The White DigiEgg
by Arek the Absolute
Summary: Thought the adventures of the original DigiDestined ended with Malo Myotismon? Think again. This is just the first part of a true epic. It has everything from romance to humor to drama, and of course, lots of action!
1. A New Face

Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own digimon. It'd be cool if I did, but what are ya' gonna' do? I DO however own the original characters. Don't steal them!  
  
[A/N: It's been a while since I've seen a truly outstanding epic here, so I wrote one. Actually I started writing it over a year ago and I've just started posting it. Don't think that this puny thing is the whole story. In fact, there are a total of ten different fics that are all connected, although some of them are yet to be written. I still need to do some more work on this first fic, so don't expect the rest of it to be posted right away. I think you'll find that if you keep reading these fics I've come up with, you won't be dissappointed. Now then, ON WITH THE SHOW!]  


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Digimon: Legends

The White DigiEgg

Hi again! This is Kari. A lot has happened in the five months since the defeat of Malo Myotismon. Gatomon, Patamon, Veemon, Hawkmon, Wormmon, and Armadillomon have all remained in the real world with us, but the other digimon all returned to the digital world, though we still get to see them a lot. Right now, T.K. and I are in New York. We're visiting Mimi and Michael.

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Day 1

T.K., Kari, and Mimi walked down Broadway, trying to catch a cab. 

"Hey Mimi," said T.K. "I almost forgot. My brother gave me some of his band's CDs to give to you."

"Thanks T.K.," replied Mimi, taking a couple CDs from T.K.'s outstretched hand. "Say, where's Patamon tonight?"

"Oh, he's with Gatomon," replied T.K. "They're trying to raid some of the park vending machines for candy."

Kari called to the other two, saying, "Hey guys, hurry up! I got a cab and you can't get these guys to wait very long."

All three of them got into the cab and sat in the back seat. T.K. was very careful about where he put his hands, making sure not to touch any gum or possibly worse. Kari rolled down the window at the first opportunity, desperately seeking fresh air.

After a rather unnerving cab ride, the three DigiDestined found themselves out in front of Mimi's apartment building. It was a tall building that was bathed in a yellowish glow from the streetlights. Meanwhile, in a darkened alley by the side of the building, a mysterious youth and his friend listened in on their conversation.

"That's them buddy," said the stranger. "How do you think we should approach them? I mean, should I just go up and talk to them?"

"I still think we should have talked to Willis first," said the other one in a rough, slightly grainy voice. "That kid would have probably understood our situation better."

"Hey, I'm not getting into this argument again," responded the first. "Anyway, if we can't manage to talk to these three, we can always track him down."

Just then, the mysterious pair heard Mimi yelling.

"Hey!" shouted Mimi. "Come back here you thief! Just wait till I get my hands on you!"

A suspicious character, probably in his late teens, wearing a red baseball cap, blue jeans, and a white T-shirt had crept up behind her and had stolen her purse. He immediately took off running. Thinking quickly the mysterious boy leaped from the alley and sucker-punched the would-be thief in the gut, knocking the wind out of him and causing him to collapse to the ground. The boy then picked up Mimi's purse and casually walked over and handed it back to her.

"I believe this belongs to you," said the boy, a quirky smile drawn across his face.

The mysterious boy was slightly taller than Tai and about the same age. He wore a long, black leather jacket and matching finger-less gloves. He also wore a buttoned, white shirt and tan cargo pants. Around his neck hung a pair of dog tags on a long metal chain. His hair and eyes were dark brown. His bushy, spiked hair was longer on the right side and partially covered his face.

"Oh thank you so much!" said Mimi, jogging over to the boy and taking her purse back from him. "I'm Mimi, who are you?"

Before the young man could reply, he noticed the purse-snatcher had gotten up and was running around the corner.

"No time," said the young man, running off after the thief. "Go find a cop somewhere, would ya'?"

The young man then headed through a shortcut in the alley. He was waiting to tackle the thief as he turned the corner and managed to pin his hands behind his back. Despite the young man's fairly thin frame, he was clearly very strong. This became quite apparent over the course of the next few minutes as he subdued the thief until T.K. showed up with a cop in tow. The police officer congratulated the young man on his nice work, but he did warn him that it was dangerous and not to do it again. The cop then headed off with the crook, who wasn't putting up much of a fight anymore. Mimi finally had the chance to learn who her knight in shining armor was.

"So like I was saying," started Mimi. "I'm Mimi Tachikawa, and you are?"

"The name's Jack Cole," said the young man. "There's no need to introduce yourselves, I know about you all. I must say that I'm quite impressed with you T.K., and you too Kari."

"How did you know our names?" asked T.K. "And what else do you know about us?"

"Look T.K.," said Jack. "I don't think this is the best place to talk. Why don't you guys round up Patamon and Gatomon and meet me at this address in one hour."

Jack handed T.K. a slip of paper with an address written on it. Jack then slowly walked down the sidewalk, blending into the sea of people. T.K. simply looked down at the slip of paper, wondering what was going on.

About an hour later, the three DigiDestined and their digimon found themselves outside an average-size apartment building. Jack immediately buzzed them up and they proceeded into the building. They crossed the lobby to a row of elevators. They took the closest elevator up to the third story and entered into a hallway with tan walls and red carpeting. They looked from door to door until they found 3H. Mimi gave a quick tap against the door with her knuckles. A few seconds later, the door opened up and there stood Jack, the same confident smile on his face.

"Come in, come in," said Jack.

"Thanks," said Mimi, stepping inside.

The living room was fairly large in size. There were several doors on the right and an open doorway to the left that led into a kitchen area where the sounds of activity could be heard. In the center of the room was a set of furniture including a couch, a loveseat, and a chair. They were all a matching shade of white and were arranged around an oak coffee table. The couch faced a 20" TV set and had several pillows piled on it. The carpeting in the room was also white. A small table sat right next to the door and it had a large stack of mail on it. Several plants and paintings were scattered about the room in a tasteful manner and a large, yellowish, overhead light provided plenty of illumination.

""Jack?" called a warm, feminine voice from the kitchen. "Do your friends want anything to snack on?"

"No thanks," said Jack. "They're not going to be here too long."

"Are you sure?" asked the voice. "It's no problem."

"Don't worry about it," said Jack.

"Okay, I think it's about time you start explaining," said Patamon. "What's going on?"

"Not here," whispered Jack. "Come with me."

He signaled for them to follow as he proceeded through the first door on the right. The others followed him and closed the door behind them as they came into his room. It was a fairly normal room. The walls were painted white and the carpet was blue. In one corner of the room was a bed left unmade and in the other corner directly underneath a window sat a desk. The desk was about four feet across and had a computer on one side. Next to that were piles of books, CDs, pop cans, and assorted crap. The walls were decorated with several posters and the floor was littered with various kinds of refuse.

"Okay," said Kari, trying not to step on anything. "Start explaining how you know about us and our digimon."

"Well, it's kind of a long story," replied Jack. "First, I'd like you all to meet a friend of mine."

Jack went over to his window and opened it. Seconds later, a strange digimon flew in, landing on his feet with a certain amount of dignified grace. The digimon was about the size of Agumon and of similar structure, looking like a small dragon. He had blue skin and a patch of short, white hair on the top of his head, situated between his two horns. His tail was much longer and thinner than Agumon's and he wore a golden ring around it. His wings looked to be thick and strong as he folded them behind his back. He had powder-blue eyes that seemed to hint at a fierce intelligence.

"This is Stormdramon," said Jack. "Surprised? He's been with me for about eight years now. He hatched from a DigiEgg that sprang from my computer screen. According to him, he's a pretty strong digimon."

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you all face-to-face," said Stormdramon.

"He's not kidding about being strong," said Gatomon. "From what I've heard, Stormdramon's Raging Storm attack is almost as strong as a Champion level digimon's attack, even though Stormdramon is only a Rookie. I thought that Stormdramon was just a legend but I guess he's not."

"Eight years huh?" asked Kari. "That's about the same time that Willis got his digimon and Greymon fought with Parrotmon in Japan."

"That's right," said Jack, showing them his digivice. "I'm a DigiDestined, just like all of you."

"Strange," said Patamon. "I don't remember seeing you at that final fight with Malo Myotismon."

"Did you see the size of that crowd?" asked Jack. "It's easy to not get noticed, but I was there alright."

"Well where were you when we had to round up the digimon a few months back?" asked Mimi. "Remember when they started appearing all over the world?"

"It's an interesting story actually," said Jack. "You see, I really wanted to meet up with you, Michael, Davis, and the others in town, but when I left to confront a pair of Devidramon outside the city I ran into some trouble. They weren't very cooperative to say the least. They overwhelmed Stormdramon and I and we would have been goners had he not finally managed to digivolve to his Champion form. This allowed him to take care of the first Devidramon with ease, but the second one got the drop on us and knocked both of us out. By the time we had come to, you guys had everything wrapped up."

"So how exactly did you come to be a DigiDestined in the first place?" asked Gatomon.

"Well…" said Jack. "My whole story begins eight years ago, when I was only a kid. It was summer, and I had just finished my lunch and was about to go outside when I saw a strange glow coming from my family's computer. When I got closer, a strange code sequence flashed across the screen and a blue-and-white DigiEgg popped out. It took about a day for it to hatch into Geromon, a small, purple, ball-shaped digimon. Boy was he hungry. He must have eaten a whole pizza, 3 sandwiches, a loaf of bread and a cold pancake within the first half-hour of hatching. The next day I caught a report on the news about a terrorist bombing in Japan. Something about that news report stuck out in mind. It was a few years before I connected it to the digimon.

It took Geromon about a week to digivolve into Feramon. He was certainly an excitable little digimon. His head looked like that of Koromon and his body was like Demiveemon's, except he was purple. He told me all about digimon, digivolving, and the Digital World. For the next few years, he stayed as Feramon, then everything started going crazy all over the world. The weather went totally out of whack and I started seeing monsters on the TV. Feramon told me that they were digimon, like him. Several days after the whole thing began, I started hearing news reports of monster sightings all over the world, but especially in Tokyo. As luck would have it my parents and I were there on a visit to some distant relatives. I watched the whole thing unfold with Feramon at my side. We happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, since we found ourselves within Myotismon's fog barrier.

Feramon and I were alone in our hotel room when the Bakemon attacked; my parents had gone out shopping. Knowing that Feramon didn't stand a chance against them, I told him to hide. I attacked the Bakemon myself with the baseball bat I had brought along. As I fought with one of them, Phantomon appeared behind me. I made it onto the balcony and jumped onto a passing Bakemon, whom I rode safely to the ground. I started to run, but Phantomon and his cronies caught me and took me to the convention center. After I tried to escape a couple times, the Bakemon decided to tie me up. As I sat, tied to one of the benches, I plotted a way to escape. Suddenly, Feramon appeared from out of one of the nearby plants. We were happy to see each other and he tried to untie the ropes, but the knots were too complicated for his little hands. That's when this kid approached me. He said he would try to untie the ropes and he was able to do it after a few minutes. Once he freed me, my digivice began emitting a strange glow. He told me that his name was Davis. Weird coincidence, huh? I thanked him and tried to sneak away from the Bakemon with Feramon and find a way out, but they spotted us. They attacked Feramon. He was almost out for the count when I stepped in and tried to save him. The Bakemon attacked me, but before they could land a single hit, my digivice activated and Feramon finally digivolved into Stormdramon. His strength allowed him to easily clear the Bakemon from our path, but we didn't have time to free anyone else as Phantomon had just shown up. We made a hasty retreat.

Stormdramon and I managed to evade the Bakemon thanks to him digivolving. After running around the city for several hours, we saw the massive battle being waged between you guys and Myotismon. We didn't think we could be much help so we watched you fight him, and Venom Myotismon later. We even watched you return to the digital world and your fight with Apocalymon. Seeing how strong all your digimon were made me want to get Stormdramon as strong as he could get so we could protect the people of Earth if the time came. He agreed with me, so we got to training right away after returning to New York, which was a mess after Gorillamon's visit. Stormdramon usually trained up on the rooftop or outside the city when he could find a bus to ride on top of.

Some time later, I began tracking a virus on the Internet. I followed it to a DigiEgg that had somehow appeared there. I now know that that was Willis' doing. I kept a close eye on it, watching it digivolve and make its way across the world. I saw it battling with Agumon and Tentomon, and then with Gabumon and Patamon. I watched as Tai and Matt appeared on the Internet and helped Wargreymon and Metalgarurumon combine into Omnimon. After the battle ended, Stormdramon and I were more dedicated than ever to making him as strong as he could become.

My life continued in a pretty normal way for a while, up until around a year ago. I was helping Stormdramon with his training on a roof across town when my digivice started going nuts. Looking around, I saw Willis and Terriermon in an alley by the side of the building. Moments later, Wendigomon appeared. I watched the battle between the digimon, hopping from rooftop to rooftop to watch the fight. You two showed up a couple minutes later and Wendigomon disappeared, shortly before Willis ran off. It didn't take me long after seeing you to figure out who you were. I was also pretty fascinated by the fact that there was another DigiDestined living right here in New York that I didn't know about, so I decided to follow him, knowing you would do the same. I followed him all the way to Colorado where he met up with Davis, Yolei, Cody, and their digimon. I watched and heard everything that happened. After the battle, I headed back here, to New York to think about everything that had happened."

"Wow," responded T.K. "I thought there weren't any more DigiDestined out there that we didn't know about. What made you decide to come to us instead of Willis?"

"Well," started Jack. "I'm going on a month-long trip to Tokyo as part of a short-term foreign exchange program tomorrow. I figured you guys could arrange a meeting with the rest of the team. I'd love to meet them all face-to-face. I've already met the other DigiDestined here and to be honest, you guys seem a lot more interesting."

"And stronger too!" chimed in Stormdramon.

"Sure thing," replied Kari. "We'd be more than happy to show you around. We're leaving the same day as you. We might even be on the same plane."

"Thanks for your help Kari," said Jack. "It's getting late so you should all get going. It's been great finally meeting you all."

With that, T.K., Kari, Mimi, and the digimon left, their minds still focused on Jack's story.


	2. The Meeting

1.1 [I know this chapter isn't very long but just bear with me here. I wrote this story a long time ago and I've gotten a lot better since then. I just can't figure out how to fix this thing.]  
  
1.2  
  
1.3 Day 2  
  
T.K. and Kari sat awaiting Jack's arrival at gate 12-B in JFK Airport as the morning sun shone in through the windows.  
  
"What time is it?" asked Kari impatiently.  
  
"It's about 9:30. Just relax Kari," replied T.K. "He's still got plenty of time to get here."  
  
"Yeah," said Patamon, who was resting on T.K.'s hat. "He'll be here."  
  
Just then, Jack came running up with a great big duffel bag thrown over his shoulder. He was obviously struggling under the weight.  
  
"Hey, good of you to show up," called out T.K., chuckling a bit. "Why didn't you just check that thing? It looks awfully heavy."  
  
"What can I tell you?" asked Jack. "Stormdramon doesn't trust baggage handlers."  
  
Stormdramon popped his head out of the bag.  
  
"You wouldn't like them much either if you had to go through what I did on my first international flight," said Stormdramon.  
  
"Well you've got to lose some weight by our next flight or it's back to the luggage compartment for you," said Jack.  
  
With that said, they all boarded the plane and began their journey towards the most difficult battle they would ever face.  
  
1.4 Day 3  
  
Their plane arrived at Tokyo airport at about 2:30 PM, local time. As they got off the plane, Tai, Matt, Davis, Cody, and Yolei were waiting to meet them.  
  
Tai greeted Kari and asked her, "So what's this big surprise you wanted me to see?"  
  
Just then, Jack stepped off the plane.  
  
"Tai, this is Jack," said Kari. "We met him in America."  
  
"Oh, hi," said Tai. "My name's Tai, it's nice to meet you. Now come on Kari, what's the big surprise?"  
  
"Hey Jack," said Stormdramon. "Now that you're introduced, can you let me out of this bag? It's cramped and you left a bologna sandwich in here."  
  
A stunned silence fell over the whole group. With the cat (or rather digimon) out of the bag, Stormdramon decided to pop his head out. The group was surprised, needless to say.  
  
"Hi there," said Stormdramon. "I'm Stormdramon, Jack's digimon. I already know who all of you are already, so there's no need to introduce yourselves."  
  
"Wow, another DigiDestined!" broke in Davis. "This is so awesome!"  
  
"What do you mean you already know who we are?" asked Cody inquisitively.  
  
"I'm sure you all have lot's of questions for me," said Jack. "But they would take way too long to answer here. Why don't we go somewhere where we can all relax for a while?"  
  
"Sure," replied Tai. "We can go to my apartment. I'm sure my mom won't mind. Just don't try any of the snacks she offers you. Izzy can back me up on that."  
  
"I'll call Izzy, Joe, Sora, and Ken and have them meet us there," said Matt. "I'll just be a minute."  
  
As they all headed out of the airport, Matt and Stormdramon had a small side-conversation.  
  
"It's nice to finally meet you in person Matt," said Stormdramon.  
  
"It seems to me that you two have been watching us for a while," said Matt "How long have you known about us?"  
  
"We've been seeing what we could of your battles ever since Myotismon attacked Tokyo," said Stormdramon. "I've wanted to be as strong as Gabumon is since then."  
  
"Why is that?" asked Matt.  
  
"I'm not really sure how to put it," said Stormdramon, musing to himself. "I guess you could say it's a matter of pride. I just want to be the strongest out there. Jack claims that it's for more noble purposes, but in the end, it comes down to a desire to be the best."  
  
"You sound pretty dedicated," said Matt. "I'm sure that you will one day become the best. Maybe I can get Gabumon to give you some pointers."  
  
"Thanks Matt, you're a great guy," said Stormdramon. "It's not surprising that you wound up with the crest of friendship. I've been wondering since we first saw you fighting what crest Jack might eventually get."  
  
Suddenly, Tai called out, "Hey guys, are you just going to stand there? Come on, your falling behind!"  
  
They all arrived at Tai's apartment and met up with Ken, Izzy, Sora, and Joe. Jack retold his whole story to the group. As always, Izzy had a few questions  
  
"If you've known about us all this time, how come you never tried to contact us?" asked Izzy.  
  
"I wanted to keep my presence a secret until I thought Stormdramon was strong enough to help out," said Jack. "Even after he first digivolved to his Champion form, I was reluctant. Once T.K and Kari had returned to New York though, I decided the time was right."  
  
"Well why haven't we heard anything about Stormdramon in the news before?" asked Matt. "No one can hide a digimon in the real world without suspicion for eight years."  
  
"Stormdramon became very good at hiding," said Jack. "Even when we were seen, it didn't make the news. People see all kinds of weird things in New York."  
  
"I've got a question," said Davis. "I understand why you couldn't help us send the digimon back to the Digital World on Christmas, but how come you didn't help us fight Wendigomon in Colorado?"  
  
"Well, I wanted to see how strong you guys were," said Jack. "If I thought you needed help I would have offered it in a heartbeat. Anyway, you came out on top, right? You should be proud."  
  
T.K. broke in, saying, "Hey Jack, you've never been to the DigiWorld, right? Well how 'bout we take you tomorrow?"  
  
"That's a great idea T.K.," said Matt. "But I want to come along this time. It's been way too long since I've spent the day there."  
  
Kari couldn't go; she had to visit her grandmother. Davis couldn't go because he had a doctor's appointment; Yolei couldn't go either because she had to help out at the store. Ken had to go to soccer practice. Even Cody couldn't go; he had a Kendo lesson. Izzy, however, offered to help monitor the trio's situation while they were in the DigiWorld. Everyone soon started heading home. Kari saw Yolei and Sora off at the door.  
  
"Bye you two," said Kari. "I'll be seeing you."  
  
"Did anyone else think Jack was totally cute?" asked Yolei.  
  
"I think he's a little old for you Yolei," replied Sora.  
  
"He was pretty handsome," said Kari. "What did you think Sora?"  
  
"I didn't really notice," replied Sora. "I've kinda' got my eye on someone else."  
  
Meanwhile in the living room, Joe was talking with T.K.  
  
"So T.K.," said Joe. "How's Mimi doing? It's been a while since we were in the same place together."  
  
"Mimi?" asked T.K. "She's fine. Why?'  
  
"Oh, it's nothing," replied Joe.  
  
With that they all left. 


	3. First Blood

Here we go. This part features a brief example of one of the types of sequences that have gotten me a lot of attention: a fight scene. This isn't the best example I've ever done, but if you like it, it will only get better from here.  
  
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Day 4  
  
The next morning, Matt, Izzy, T.K., Patamon, Jack, and Stormdramon all met at Matt's apartment, ready to enter the DigiWorld.  
  
"Good morning everyone," said Matt, inviting the others in. "Could you keep it down? My dad hasn't left for work yet."  
  
"Oh hi T.K." said Matt and T.K.'s dad, sipping a cup of coffee and pulling on his jacket. "Is that you Izzy? It's been a while. And who's your new friend?"  
  
"It's a pleasure to meet you," said Jack. "I'm Jack and I'm just visiting for a little while."  
  
"Hey, did something just move behind you?" asked Matt's dad, spying something out of the corner of his eye.  
  
"Um. uh." muttered Jack, going pale.  
  
"You must be seeing things dad," said T.K.  
  
"Sure," said his dad. "That must be it. You kids have fun, I'm off to work."  
  
He left with a slight smile on his face, clearly remembering the blue tail he had seen and thinking to himself, "Can't those two find any normal friends?"  
  
"Well is everybody ready to go?" asked Izzy. "I'll be monitoring your progress. Be sure to tell me how everything goes."  
  
They opened the digiport on Matt's computer and Izzy programmed their destination for File Island. T.K. was kind enough to open the Digiport.  
  
Arriving in the DigiWorld, they were met by Gabumon, who eagerly listened to Matt as he explained about Jack and Stormdramon. Unfortunately, Gabumon had news that was far from being as good as Matt's.  
  
"Something strange has been going on around here," said Gabumon. "Infinity Mountain split open a few days ago, revealing some massive crater. There's something really powerful in there. I haven't even been able to get close. There are also a bunch of guys in black cloaks running around here. I would avoid them if I were you; they seem to have control of a whole bunch of evil digimon."  
  
"Oh man," replied Matt. "This looks like trouble. We had better get to the bottom of this. Let's head for Infinity Mountain."  
  
Infinity Mountain had changed a lot since their last visit. The slope had become incredibly steep and it was glaringly obvious that they'd never be able to hike up the incline without some adequate rock-climbing gear. While looking around for an alternate route, they came upon an entrance to a small cave. Dense foliage and moss surrounded the opening, so they were lucky to have found it at all. With no external routes available, they all agreed the best course of action was to head into the cave and hope it connected to a point near the summit. And so they began their difficult trek through a long and winding series of caves. The dark, dank caves were certainly foreboding. They spent hours tripping over stalagmites and slipping in pools of water. The air was unusually dry and had a very stale smell to it. After three hours or so, they made their way into a fairly wide-open region of the cavern. The rocks in that part of the cave were slightly blue in color. The air immediately grew denser, and a distinctive odor seemed to permeate every corner of that space.  
  
"What is that smell?" asked Matt, sniffing at the air.  
  
"It smells rancid," said T.K., holding his nose. "Let's get out of here."  
  
"I don't think I want to stay here long enough to find out what it is," said Jack, also holding his nose.  
  
"Yeesh." said Gabumon, fanning the air away from his nose with his eyes shut tight. "That smell is undoubtedly the unmistakable stench of bad breath combined with saliva and a fair amount of BO."  
  
"You sure?" asked Matt, pinching his nose shut.  
  
"Of course I'm sure!" said Gabumon. "I have the best nose here! And I used to think that was a blessing."  
  
Just then, a mysterious figure seemed to come from the passage ahead, walking slowly towards the group. He was tall and clad in a long, hooded robe, much like the one worn by Gennai. The major difference though was that the robe worn by the new figure was a very deep black with a gray trim. The figure's face was completely covered, but his thin, glowing red eyes pierced through the seemingly infinite darkness like daggers.  
  
"You should not be here. Leave now," said the strange figure in a raspy voice.  
  
"We don't want any trouble," said T.K. calmly. "Just let us through."  
  
"This is your last chance. Leave!" yelled the man.  
  
"What's up there that's so important that we can't even see it?" asked Jack.  
  
"That does it," said the man, narrowing his eyes into slits. "Dark Tyrannomon, attack!"  
  
A Dark Tyrannomon emerged from the cave behind the robed figure. He quickly hit Gabumon and Patamon with several powerful balls of flame, missing Stormdramon by a slim margin.  
  
"Stormdramon," said Jack. "You're the only one left. It's time for you to digivolve."  
  
"Let's show that Dark Tyrannomon what we're made of!" shouted Stormdramon.  
  
Jack's digivice activated and Stormdramon digivolved into Dracomon, his Champion form.  
  
"Whoa. It's Dracomon," said Patamon. "Dracomon is a dragon-type digimon of legendary power. His strength is way beyond that of most Champion digimon, and his ferocity in battle is virtually unmatched. He commands the skies with his awesome attack: Mega Flare."  
  
Dracomon was a powerful-looking digimon who stood about ten feet high. He had thick, blue skin and massive wings that he held outspread. Running from just under his chin, down his torso, between his legs and along the bottom of his tail was a layer of particularly thick, purple scales. His figure was streamlined and ideal for flight. He stood upright on his muscular legs, which were similar in structure to those of Flamedramon. At the ends of each of his powerful arms were large hands, each supporting three long, sharp claws. His face was like that of pretty much any dinosaur-type digimon, being long and blunted at the end with the occasional tooth protruding from his wide grin. A pair of fringed horns protruded from his skull where his ears would have been, and between them sat Dracomon's long, white hair. Partially hidden and well shaded by his long, spiky hair were his cold, gray eyes, peering into the world around him with a hidden ferocity.  
  
Dracomon raised his lips into a sneer and let out a low growl. He pushed off from the ground with impressive force and lunged at the Dark Tyrannomon with his arm outstretched for a punch. Dark Tyrannomon quickly put a stop to that, striking Dracomon with his huge claw and hitting him off to the side when he was close enough. Dracomon quickly regained his composure, performed a quick flip, landed on the stone wall with the utmost precision, and then instantly rebounded. He went in again with his claw extended. This time he scored a solid hit, tearing open some of the skin on Dark Tyrannomon's cheek. Dracomon passed on by and landed on the opposite wall, digging his feet and hands into it with his talons. Dark Tyrannomon, meanwhile, grasped his face and shut his eyes tightly. After a few seconds, he reopened his eyes and removed his hand from his face. After seeing the blood on his palm, Dark Tyrannomon slowly turned his head towards Dracomon, blinded by his rage. Dark Tyrannomon opened his mouth slightly and flames could be seen licking at his lips. A few seconds later, Dark Tyrannomon reared back his head before unleashing a huge fireball directly at Dracomon. Dracomon hopped down from the wall of the cave and was able to duck just in time to avoid Dark Tyrannomon's attack before it smashed into the wall, practically disintegrating it. As the rock and dust rained down against Dracomon, Jack shielded his eyes and considered Dracomon's fighting technique.  
  
"Dracomon!" shouted Jack. "We can't afford to mess around. You've got to take him down now! Use your Mega Flare!"  
  
"No can do!" replied Dracomon, not taking his eyes off Dark Tyrannomon. "This space is too enclosed. The blast would kill us all, not just Dark Tyrannomon!"  
  
"I guess you're right," said Jack. "But you'd better figure out what to do and fast!"  
  
Dracomon again lunged at Dark Tyrannomon. Dark Tyrannomon rose his claw into the air and brought it down hard, aiming for Dracomon. Dracomon, however, dug his claws into the ground, brining himself to an abrupt halt, causing Dark Tyrannomon to embed his claw into the ground in front of Dracomon. As Dark Tyrannomon attempted to extricate his claw from the ground, Dracomon leaped at Dark Tyrannomon's head, scoring a powerful kick that sent Dark Tyrannomon reeling against the wall of the cave, causing him to collapse in a lump with his head resting against the wall itself. Dracomon flew towards Dark Tyrannomon to finish the job, but even as he was in mid-air, Dark Tyrannomon lifted his head and fired a ball of flame that completely engulfed Dracomon. Dracomon fell to the cold stone ground in pain as Dark Tyrannomon stood up again.  
  
"Finish it Dark Tyrannomon," said the robed figure.  
  
Dark Tyrannomon walked over to where Dracomon lay and aimed his claw at Dracomon's body. Dracomon tried to get up, but he quickly fell back down again. Dark Tyrannomon was mere milliseconds away from thrusting his claws through Dracomon when a beam of light pierced through the darkness of the cave, tunneling through Dark Tyrannomon's body and shooting through the dark figure's midsection, completely tearing his upper torso from his legs.  
  
"What was that?" asked Dracomon, slowly rising to his feet.  
  
"That was me," said Angemon, who had digivolved without being noticed by anyone else. "I thought you could use a hand."  
  
"Thanks," said Dracomon with a smile.  
  
"Are you okay Dracomon?" asked Jack.  
  
"I'll be alright," replied Dracomon.  
  
"Not. for long." said a raspy voice from a few feet away.  
  
Everyone turned and looked down at the dark figure. All that remained were a pair of severed legs and his upper body, which was missing most of his lower torso and left arm.  
  
"As soon. as he is awakened. you will all.die." said the figure, who was having difficulty speaking.  
  
"Who?" asked Matt. "As soon as who is awakened?"  
  
"You will see soon enough." said the figure.  
  
"Who are you?" asked Gabumon. "And what are you planning?"  
  
The figure said nothing more, but he began to laugh. His laugh was quiet, yet very cold, evil even. His eyes slowly shut and his remains disintegrated in much the same manner as a digimon's.  
  
"We've got to keep going," said Matt. "We need to stop whatever these guys are planning to do."  
  
Everyone else nodded in agreement.  
  
"Hey, look over there," said Angemon, pointing to a place where a bright light shone through the cave wall. "What's that?"  
  
The group cautiously approached what they discovered to be a sizeable opening in the cave wall. Looking out, they could see daylight, and the side of Infinity Mountain. It would be a tight squeeze, but the hole looked big enough to allow everyone to crawl out of the cave.  
  
"That was one hell of a shot Angemon," said T.K. "You put quite a hole in the wall."  
  
"It was nothing really," said Angemon, blushing a little.  
  
"Let's get out of this place," said Gabumon. "The moisture in this cave is making my fur all frizzy."  
  
"Alright, just hold your horses," said Matt, laughing a little. "Just let me out first so I can make sure it's safe."  
  
With a little boost from Gabumon, Matt managed to climb out through the opening in the cave wall and out onto the slope of Infinity Mountain.  
  
"Come on out here you guys!" called Matt a few seconds later. "You should see the view from up here!"  
  
One by one, the rest of the small group made their way out onto Infinity Mountain. It was quite a sight to say the least. Spread out for miles below them was a great forest. The thick clouds overhead allowed a few columns of orange sunlight to pass through them, and the sun could be seen in the distance, burning at the horizon. The mountain itself was almost completely devoid of foliage, and the rocky face was very treacherous. Luckily, the exit that had been made by Angemon was easily within climbing distance of what remained of the mountain's summit. Slowly, the whole group dragged themselves up the mountainside to the great ledge that sat above them. Once they had all reached their destination, they looked down at a truly remarkable sight.  
  
The chasm lying before them was made up of a black rock, possibly obsidian. Several narrow walkways slithered down among spire-like boulders and seemingly bottomless ravines. Bursting from the rock surrounding the large, circular pit were a set of ten pillars of solid rock, shooting towards the sky like great spears, guarding the entrance to a forbidden sight. A deathly-cold wind whipped around the beak of the mountain, causing the six brave adventurers to shiver at the stinging cold. Deep down at the very hub where all the paths met, over two hundred feet below, a strange, bluish light could be seen.  
  
"Alright," said Jack with a determined expression on his face. "Let's go." 


	4. The Test

Angemon and Dracomon quickly de-digivolved to conserve their energy for the hike ahead. They all headed down into the crater along the nearest path. About an hour down the cliff, Gabumon and Stormdramon started having a conversation.  
  
"It's great to finally get to talk to you Gabumon," said Stormdramon. "I think you should know that you're my biggest inspiration."  
  
"What are you talking about Stormdramon?" asked Gabumon.  
  
"Well," said Stormdramon. "Ever since I started training, I've had my mind set on becoming really strong. I was watching when you and Agumon first digivolved into your Mega forms. Seeing how strong you became really made me want to become that strong so I could protect Jack. I know him and he'll rush into a dangerous situation without giving it a second thought. He really needs me to be there to protect him."  
  
"But why me and not Agumon?" asked Gabumon.  
  
"I can't really explain it," said Stormdramon. "I guess I've just felt more of a connection to you for some reason. Anyway, I'm really glad we could be here, fighting these evil digimon side by side."  
  
"I'm getting the feeling that Jack has no idea what he's getting himself into," suggested Gabumon, staring hard at the confident young man several feet ahead of him. "I think he sees this as some sort of game."  
  
"I might think the same thing in your shoes," said Stormdramon. "But I think he knows exactly what's going on. He has a lot of self-control in situations like this. He never shows any fear."  
  
"He sounds a lot like Matt early on," said Gabumon. "Matt never used to be good at expressing his feelings openly. Eventually, all his emotions bent up inside him almost destroyed us. He finally managed to express himself fully and has become a better person as a result. I get the feeling that if Jack releases his emotions and shows his true nature, you too might be able to digivolve to your Ultimate or maybe even Mega form some day."  
  
"Thanks, Gabumon," said Stormdramon.  
  
The six travelers intrepidly pushed on, deeper into the increasingly ominous crater. As they continued, they began to notice trace amounts of a luminous, blue liquid on the black rock. They noted that the blackened clouds overhead had begun to swirl in a cyclic pattern, far above the crater. After a time, they reached a place in the path where the surface of the rock fanned out into a broad ledge. The small group could sense something very strange about this place, and they all remained perfectly still. Slowly, a strange fog began to encircle them.  
  
"This is getting weird," said T.K., standing back-to-back-to-back with Matt and Jack.  
  
"Yeah," said Matt.  
  
"What's next?" asked Jack.  
  
The fog grew thicker, making it impossible to see for more than a few feet away. Suddenly, every sound seemed to echo forever, and the background noise of the terrible wind completely vanished. It was as though they were trapped in their own, tiny little universe.  
  
"Something isn't right here," said Stormdramon, backing off nervously.  
  
"I smell something. familiar." said Gabumon, sniffing the air suspiciously.  
  
"We're in trouble," said Patamon, trembling nervously on T.K.'s hat.  
  
At that moment, they all heard a voice call to them, seemingly from every direction. Actually, it was impossible to tell whether it was one voice, or a multitude speaking together.  
  
"DigiDestined." said the voice.  
  
"Who's there?" asked T.K. with noticeable apprehension.  
  
"Chosen." said the voice.  
  
"What do you want from us?" asked Stormdramon.  
  
"The test." said the voice.  
  
"Test?" asked Jack. "What test?"  
  
"Fear. doubt. anger." said the voice. "They are strong. They must be defeated."  
  
"What are you talking about?" asked Matt. "What's going on here?"  
  
"Face your demons." said the voice.  
  
The fog immediately wrapped itself completely around everyone, separating them from each other.  
  
"Matt!" shouted T.K. "Jack?! Where are you guys?!"  
  
"I'm still here," said Patamon from atop T.K.'s head.  
  
"So what happens next?" asked T.K.  
  
T.K.'s question was quickly answered, when what appeared to be a living shadow walked through the fog and stopped just in front of him. The dark, translucent figure appeared to be that of a beautiful young woman in a long, flowing gown.  
  
"Wh-who are you?" asked T.K., shivering at the sight of the apparition.  
  
"I am destiny." said the shadow in a feminine voice. "In my hands, I carry the cards of fate, and I always travel forward, seeking truth."  
  
"What do you want with us?" asked Patamon.  
  
"It is a simple test that you must undergo," said the shadow. "You must feel what lies in store for you if you are to continue down the stream of fate. You must be ready to deal with the inevitable. Will you accept this test?"  
  
"Very well," said T.K., his face growing serious. "I won't be afraid."  
  
The shadowy figure reached out her arm and placed her hand into his chest, touching the very core of his being. T.K. was instantly catapulted into a whirlwind of emotions. He gripped his temples and fell to his knees as his eyes widened in anguish. He saw strange images of things he had never before imagined. He saw great battles, blood being spilt, thousands of bodies of both humans and digimon alike, and a single being of truly horrific design, standing over all of it. T.K. felt the combined emotional suffering of years of anguish. His mind was invaded by thoughts that were not his own, yet seemed as though they were. Just when he could take no more, the shadowy woman removed he hand from his chest. T.K. was sweating and breathing heavily, lying on the cold, stone ground.  
  
"You are stronger than we though," said the woman. "I should have given you more credit. Perhaps the time is right after all."  
  
The shadow began to shrink down and change shape. T.K. watched as the shadow change into what appeared to be a tarot card. T.K. examined the card closely. It bore an intricately drawn balance on the face, below which was written the word "judgement".  
  
As this went on, Matt was having a similar experience. He stood with Gabumon at his side, surrounded by dense fog. Before them stood a man in his forties, wrapped in darkness. His short, dirty-blonde hair hung over his eyes. His short leather jacket was battered, and the blue jeans he wore were torn at various places. Matt could smell dried blood, and even noticed a few spots of dark crimson on the man.  
  
"What do you want from me?" asked Matt.  
  
The man said nothing, but just limped forward, leaning heavily on his left leg.  
  
"Don't come any closer," said Gabumon.  
  
"Pain." said the man, taking another step forward.  
  
"I'm not going to tell you again," said Gabumon.  
  
"Too much pain." said the man.  
  
"That does it!" said Gabumon.  
  
Gabumon let loose with his Blue Blaster attack, but it passed right through the man, as if he wasn't even there.  
  
The man continued limping forward until he was close enough to lean on Matt for support.  
  
".Who are you?" asked Matt quietly.  
  
"I am a shadow of what could be," said the man. "Accept the path before you, and we will meet again."  
  
"Well gee, thanks for being so clear about it," said Gabumon.  
  
"You're pretty beat up," said Matt. "Do you need help?"  
  
"I am dying," said the man. "It is inevitable. For now, just let me show you what you must see."  
  
".Alright," said Matt.  
  
The man straightened himself up again and gently set his hand on Matt's forehead. Matt slowly closed his eyes. Suddenly, he felt a sudden surge of pain rake along his head, just over his right ear. He let out a shriek of pain as it felt as though a gash, six inches long had been dealt to his head. He was able to grit his teeth and hang on, but as the pain was starting to die down, he felt as though he had been kicked in the stomach. Matt fell to the ground, but the man kept his hand on Matt's forehead. Every few seconds Matt felt sudden surges of pain all over his body, as though more and more wounds were being inflicted on him. The pain he felt grew more intense every second, and just when he could take no more, one last surge of pain pushed him over the edge. It felt as though a Bowie Knife had been shoved up through his belly and came out the other side. Matt cried out in pain and passed out.  
  
Jack too was having a strange experience. He and Stormdramon were staring at a tall figure, completely wrapped in darkness. Not a single ray of light seemed capable of penetrating the creature's defenses.  
  
"Why do you fear me?" asked the creature in a dry, raspy voice.  
  
"I fear nothing!" said Jack defensively.  
  
"Oh please," said the creature. "You're shaking in your boots. Perhaps you would feel better if I took on a more familiar form."  
  
The creature stepped closer as he began to change shape. He was soon wrapped in a blood-red cape and had white, bushy hair, a pale complexion, and infinitely deep, black eyes.  
  
"Is that better?" asked the creature, resting it's metallic claw on a long, silver walking cane with a perfectly spherical ruby on top.  
  
"What are you talking about?" asked Jack. "How would this seem more familiar to me?!"  
  
"Oh, you mortals are so touchy," said the creature. "I had forgotten how limited you are. Maybe you'll like this better."  
  
Again, the creature transformed to resemble a human that looked somewhat like Jack, except with spiked, white hair and a long furry tail.  
  
"Is this some kind of joke?" asked Jack. "What are you trying to do here?! Just let me pass and we will both be a lot happier."  
  
"Foolish boy," said the creature. "You just don't understand. Let me put it this way."  
  
The creature poked Jack on his upper, right chest.  
  
"Hey! Cut it out!" said Jack, batting the creature's hand away.  
  
"Like I said, touchy," said the creature. "I'll try to explain this as best as I can. You see, evil has already made a nest for itself in you. You can't see it now, but that spot I just pointed to will one day bear the mark of evil. Once that happens, you will never be able to escape it. You are doomed."  
  
"Look here twerp," said Jack, grabbing the creature by the collar. "I've had just ab-"  
  
Before Jack could finish his sentence, an explosion of pain seemed to come from within his body, from the place that the creature had been pointing to. Jack grabbed his chest and struggled to keep from screaming. Beads of sweat began to roll off his forehead as he nearly collapsed at the pain. The creature grabbed onto Jack's chin and brought Jack's eyes up to meet its own.  
  
"Remember this Jack." said the creature.  
  
The creature once again began to transform. This time, he became an exact duplicate of Jack.  
  
".There is no escaping your true nature," said the creature. "I'll be seeing you again. real soon."  
  
1.1.1 Jack collapsed from the pain as the creature faded out of existence. Slowly, the fog began to dissipate and the six adventurers found themselves to be exactly where they had started. They were once again on that narrow ledge leading to the glowing light at the center of Infinity Mountain. 


	5. Legend of the First Digimon

They intrepidly continued their long march down the path. As they proceeded, they noticed increasing amounts of the strange, luminous, blue liquid. They passed by pools of the strange substance, which Gabumon sniffed as if remembering it from somewhere before. Finally, they came to a place where high walls of rock surrounded the path on either side, leaving only a couple feet through which to squeeze. One by one, they all managed to make their way past the rock walls and found something truly remarkable. Now in the innermost chamber of the massive ravine, they looked around at the marvelous sight surrounding them. Below them stretched a great chasm, filled with a lake of the glowing, swirling blue substance. Geysers spewed the liquid from the rock-face into the abyss. Looking around, the six of them saw that there were other paths, all converging on one central hub, a large, natural island in the middle of everything, that was the only piece of rock in the inner chamber that stretched all the way down into the lake. From the very center of the mysterious island came the strange light they had been hunting. As they approached this site, they saw that there were people wearing beige robes that covered their entire bodies busily moving about on the small island. As they reached the edge of the platform they were approached by one of the strange men, who then removed his hood.  
  
"Surprise! It's Gennai," said their old friend.  
  
They were all needless to say quite surprised.  
  
"Gennai! Matt said. "What are you doing here? What is this place?"  
  
"My, my. Aren't you inquisitive today," said Gennai. "Well I might as well answer your query. I've been here at this sacred site, preparing for something big for the last few months. This is the oldest and most sacred place in the entire Digital World."  
  
"Really?" asked T.K. "Wow."  
  
"Who are you?" asked Jack.  
  
"All will be explained in time, my friend," said Gennai.  
  
"Alright, but I expect a detailed explanation," said Jack, crossing his arms in dissatisfaction.  
  
"Allow me to show you something interesting," said Gennai, motioning for them to follow.  
  
He led them to the middle of the island to where they had seen the glowing light. They now saw that it was a pure white DigiEgg, sitting atop a stone pillar. The DigiEgg was giving off a very intense white light, forcing the DigiDestined to shade their eyes. The pedestal was approximately three feet tall and with a very ornate design. Written in a circle around the base of the pedestal were what appeared to be some manner of strange runes or possibly ancient hieroglyphs.  
  
"Contained within this DigiEgg is the very first digimon," said Gennai, his tone of voice growing very serious. "It was he that was responsible for creating the DigiWorld. He is said to be the purest of all digimon, whose power is legendary and supposedly unstoppable. Unfortunately, he died after a long battle, many, many ages ago. Rather than being totally destroyed though, he divided his power up into four great digimon that would care for this world in his stead. Shortly after the defeat of Malo Myotismon, it was decided that he could be revived, and this DigiEgg was created in order to symbolize the coming of a new era of peace. Azulongmon and the other three guardians of the Digital World decided that the time was right to achieve their true purpose. You see, they were the digimon created by the first digimon when he died. With Malo Myotismon defeated, and a protective seal placed over this world by the noble sacrifice of Mr. Oikawa, the evil in this world was all but extinct. The guardians felt it was time to return to their true form, so they combined their powers, creating the white DigiEgg to bear the first, and this ravine to be his nesting ground. That's just a little history lesson in a nutshell. Now there are more pressing concerns. Perhaps you noticed the writing at the base. It is a very ancient prophecy. It is because of this prophecy that the DigiDestined even exist. It reads as follows:  
  
In the final hour, darkness shall cover the land. The shadows of the past shall rise again in a new body, that of the first digimon. The nine great evils that have cursed the land shall unite with the first and shall corrupt the light. The great warriors shall take their fight across three worlds, pursuing the great evil. From the ashes of their defeat shall rise the king of the dragons to bring the battle to its conclusion."  
  
"What is that supposed to mean?" asked T.K.  
  
"It means that you kids are all going to go into battle against the digimon in this DigiEgg at some point," said Gennai. "After the four guardians fused together in that DigiEgg, those strange men in black robes started appearing. My people and I took it as a sign that the time of the prophecy's fulfillment was rapidly approaching, so we all came to this place to look over the DigiEgg here, to protect it from the evil ones."  
  
"Um, Gennai?" asked Stormdramon. "Have we ever met before? You seem so familiar, but I can't remember ever meeting you before."  
  
"We have met before Stormdramon," replied Gennai. "A long time ago, we were good friends. You fought a massive battle against a very powerful digimon long ago. You eventually won, but it took all your energy to do so. As a result, you went all the way back to your egg form. Seeing a great opportunity, I paired you with a digivice and sent you off to the real world to become Jack's digimon. I've always hoped you'd make it here."  
  
"Weird," said Stormdramon. "I don't remember any of that."  
  
"Well I'm afraid you lost your memories after you were beaten," said Gennai. "Just know that I still remember your past. In time, you may learn the full story yourself."  
  
"Anyway." said Jack. "Is there anything we can do to stop these evil forces? You know, to keep them from getting this DigiEgg."  
  
"I'm afraid you can do nothing now," replied Gennai. "The DigiEgg will be lost no matter what. All I can do is offer you advice on your battle. First, this digimon is said to have the unique ability to mimic the appearance and attacks of any other creature. Don't let it fool you. Second, this digimon will digivolve at an incredible rate, but until it reaches its immensely powerful Mega form, it will use the forms of other digimon to become as strong as possible. Third, this digimon is capable of freely traveling between the DigiWorld and the real world. Divide into two teams before confronting it so it can't escape your grasp. Never forget that this digimon is very clever and far more powerful than any normal Mega digimon. Use caution when facing it."  
  
Gabumon asked, "Excuse me Gennai, but what's all this blue stuff around here? It smells wonderful."  
  
"That is extremely dense energy that collects here because of the DigiEgg," said Gennai. "When the egg hatches, it will absorb everything in this crater into itself. The energy, the rocks, and any digimon here will become part of it, increasing its strength by that much. Jack, I have one last piece of advice for you. Before you go into battle, you must find your crest. It is located in a temple at the southern tip of this island. Unfortunately, the temple is sealed at the moment. When the DigiEgg hatches, the resulting shock wave is likely to damage that seal and you should have no problem getting into the temple. That is all the advice I have to give you."  
  
Just then, a pair of Gotsumon, running as fast as they could, came to report that the dark-robed men and their evil digimon were attacking. The good digimon working with Gennai and his companions were doing their best to hold them off, but the effort was failing. The dark men were advancing quickly to the center of the ravine.  
  
"Stormdramon," said Jack. "Digivolve so we can fight them off!"  
  
"Stop," said Gennai. "This is not your fight. You are far outnumbered and couldn't win. You have to escape while you still can. Before you go, I have one last thing to tell you. This was the battle that the DigiDestined were created for. This could very well be the last battle you will have to face. If you do win, I'm not entirely sure you will ever be able to return to the Digital World, or if you'll ever see your digimon again. I'm sorry. Stormdramon, please digivolve and give your friends a ride out of this place. I will stay here to the end. One last thing, the DigiEgg won't hatch for another day. Use that time wisely."  
  
With that said, Stormdramon digivolved and Jack, T.K., Matt, Gabumon, and Patamon all climbed on board.  
  
"Take care Gennai," said Matt.  
  
"Don't get killed," said T.K.  
  
"Don't worry about me," said Gennai. "Just stay safe. I know that you can gain victory if you simply believe in yourselves and your friends."  
  
Dracomon lunged into the air, spreading his great wings with one, swift motion that shook the air around them. As they passed into the sky over Infinity Mountain, Dracomon began to circle.  
  
T.K. cried out, "Look down there! Those cloaked guys are up to something!"  
  
The dark figures had started bringing groups of captured digimon into the crater for the DigiEgg to absorb. Among these unfortunate digimon a group of Meramon and Skullmeramon, a small army of Dark Tyrannomon, a Shogungekomon, several Kuwagamon, some Flymon, a Megadramon, a Gigadramon, several Monochromon, and entire villages of lesser digimon.  
  
Once all of these digimon had been secured in the crater, nine dark men carrying nine DigiEggs went to each of the great pillars of rock surrounding the summit of Infinity Mountain and placed a DigiEgg at the foot of each.  
  
"Who do you suppose is in those eggs?" asked T.K.  
  
"I know who it has to be," said Gabumon. "In those eggs are Devimon, Etemon, Myotismon, Metalseadramon, Puppetmon, Machinedramon, Piedmon, Apocalymon, and Diaboromon, the worst digimon we've faced."  
  
"How can you be sure?" asked T.K. "I mean, what about Arukenimon and Mummymon, or Kimeramon, or maybe even Black Wargreymon?"  
  
"Those four were all artificial digimon," said Gabumon. "I don't know if I've told you this, but artificial digimon are almost never reconfigured. It's just the way things are."  
  
"So we're up against the combined powers of Devimon, Etemon, Myotismon, the Dark Masters, AND Apocalymon?" asked T.K. "That is some seriously bad news."  
  
"I don't like it either," said Matt, "It looks like we're in for quite a fight. Dracomon, let's head back to the real world on the double!"  
  
They arrived back in the real world with the bad news. They called all their friends together in order to plan their strategy.  
  
Day 5  
  
The flight from New York touched down in Tokyo airport at about 6:30 AM. It took another half-hour for everyone to start getting off. Waiting patiently outside the door was Davis, Cody, Demiveemon, and Upamon. Their friends came out of the plane shortly.  
  
"Hi guys!" called Mimi. "You wouldn't believe how many favors I had to cash in on to get here. Oh by the way, I brought some friends."  
  
Willis, Terriermon, Lopmon, Michael, and Betamon stepped off the plane. Their greeting was a bit solemn, but it was fitting for the situation. They all headed for Tai's apartment for the final briefing before the battle.  
  
"Hey guys. We're finally here," said Mimi.  
  
Tai began, "Alright, let's go over the plan one last time. Matt, Izzy, Joe, Sora, Mimi, and I will all head for the DigiWorld to wait for this digimon to hatch. Davis, Yolei, Cody, T.K., Kari, Michael, Ken, and Willis will all wait here to fight him if he shows up in the real world. Jack and Stormdramon will go to the temple to retrieve his crest. Once they have the crest in their possession, they'll join us on the battlefield in the DigiWorld. I suppose that I don't need to say anything more except, good luck everyone. Let's come out of this on top."  
  
That said, they all headed to the battlefield. The DigiWorld team camped out on the cliff where they had first come to the DigiWorld on. They sat about for a little while, dozing in the warm sun.  
  
"Matt?" asked Sora from her reclined position in her boyfriend's arms. "Are we going to be alright?"  
  
"Of course we are, don't be silly," said Matt, trying to sound confident.  
  
In all reality though, Matt was terrified. It wasn't just what Gennai had said, but it was also the strange experience they had been through in the fog. What had that middle-aged guy been trying to tell him? What did it all mean? Matt decided that there would be time for worrying about all that later.  
  
Meanwhile, Joe was sitting in the shade of a tree, his blue blazer sitting on the ground beside him as Gomamon snored loudly. Joe glanced over in Mimi's direction and sighed. She was talking to Palmon with her back turned to him. Joe didn't tell Mimi, but his old crush on her hadn't gone away like he thought it had. If anything, it was stronger than ever. Joe leaned back and closed his eyes. I smile crossed his face as began to daydream. He saw himself telling Mimi what he really felt. He pictured her smiling joyously and then throwing herself on him, wrapping her arms around him as she pressed her lips against his own. Joe could almost feel it; the warmth of her lips, the softness of her skin, the smell of her hair, the sliminess of her claws. Hey. wait a minute. Joe's eyes shot open as he noticed he had leaned over on Gomamon, whose slime-covered claws were digging into Joe's back.  
  
"Joe!" gasped Gomamon. "You're crushing me!"  
  
"Gaa!!!" yelped Joe as he shot upright again, looking very embarrassed. "Gomamon?! What's all over your claws?!"  
  
"I was hungry so I got some fish for lunch," said Gomamon. "And in case you haven't noticed, those things tend to get a little bit slimy."  
  
"Great." said Joe, trying to wipe the goo off his shirt.  
  
Joe then noticed Mimi and Palmon watching the two of them, giggling like crazy. He turned even redder than before. Joe didn't have much time to be embarrassed though. A few seconds later, Infinity Mountain was engulfed in a brilliant white light as a shock wave rippled over the trees. When the burst of sound finally reached the DigiDestined, it proved powerful enough to knock them and a few of the nearby trees right over.  
  
"Alright then." said Tai, sitting back up after a few seconds and fixing his hair. "I guess that's our cue."  
  
"This is it." said Agumon. "Let's go!" 


	6. The Battle Begins

Tentomon immediately digivolved to Mega Kabuterimon. One-by-one, all the others climbed up onto his rock-hard shell and hung on tight as he pushed off the cliff and shot through the air like a rocket, heading towards Infinity Mountain.  
  
They arrived at their destination a little over a minute later. Mega Kabuterimon landed on the rim around the great chasm in the mountain. Something was very different. The black rock had lost its sheen, becoming very dull, and the bright light from within the pit was gone. The place looked dead.  
  
"Well where is he?" asked Matt, his eyes darting back and forth.  
  
"He's gotta' be here somewhere," said Tai. "Let's head further down."  
  
"Right," said Mega Kabuterimon.  
  
Just as Mega Kabuterimon was about to head down into the abyss, they all heard a low, agonized groan from below. They all looked carefully down at a ledge along the inside wall of the mountain, about thirty feet directly below them. They noticed a pile of rocks on the ledge began to move conspicuously.  
  
"Someone's down there!" exclaimed Sora.  
  
"We'd better help them," said Mimi.  
  
"Hold it," said Izzy. "It might be a trap."  
  
"I don't see that we have much choice," said Joe. "We'll have to fight this guy eventually, so let's just get it over with."  
  
"Joe's right," agreed Tai.  
  
Mega Kabuterimon leaped off the cliff and made a smooth landing on the ledge below. The DigiDestined quickly stepped off his back and ran to the pile of stones as their digimon watched nervously. One large stone at a time, they began to free the digimon trapped inside.  
  
"Hey look here!" exclaimed Izzy as he removed one of the larger rocks.  
  
Below it was a part of the digimon's face. It had short, yellow fur with red stripes and a large, green eye. The area above his eye had apparently sustained a heavy wound, as there was still fresh blood dripping down around his eye, staining his fur.  
  
"Hold on in there!" said Sora. "We're here to help."  
  
Bit by bit, they removed all the stones from around his face, realizing after a brief time that it was in fact Saberleomon.  
  
"Stay back," said Joe, kneeling in front of the nearly catatonic Saberleomon.  
  
Joe reached into a small bag he brought along and pulled out a washcloth, which he then soaked with some bottled water he had also brought along. Joe then began to tenderly dab the wound over Saberleomon's eye with the washcloth, soaking up much of the blood.  
  
"Saberleomon, are you going to be okay?" asked Matt softly.  
  
"Digi.Destined." murmured Saberleomon, struggling to breathe. "Help me."  
  
"Oh, right," said Matt as he and the others, except for Joe, continued to drag the stones off of Saberleomon's body. By the time they were finished, Joe had bandaged most of Saberleomon's head wounds, but there was still a lot of work to be done. Saberleomon was lying on his side, barely able to move a muscle. There was a long laceration along his right front paw, and his ribs were severely bruised. His rear left hip appeared to be dislocated and he had apparently damaged something in his lower spine.  
  
"Think you're up to talking now?" asked Palmon.  
  
"Urgh," groaned Saberleomon, moving his head to face them. "It was horrible. I managed to escape. but I. was attacked. I was just about to get away from all of those dark men when that light hit me. I think I saw something head into that cave over there."  
  
Saberleomon motioned to a very large cave on another ledge, about fifty feet away.  
  
"All right," Matt said. "Let's check it out. You wait here and just hold on Saberleomon. You should be able to last for a little while at least."  
  
"Thank you," said Saberleomon. "Now go."  
  
The cave was easily big enough for all the DigiDestined and their digimon to fit inside of, including Mega Kabuterimon. As they all climbed back up onto Mega Kabuterimon's back once again and stared intently towards the gaping cave across the way, a little smile crossed Saberleomon's face. There was a sickening, yet barely audible crunching sound as Saberleomon's hip snapped itself back into place. The bruises on his ribs seemed to simply fade away while the blood from his laceration seemed to simply retreat back into the wound as it resealed itself. Saberleomon stealthily stood up, the picture of health. He had the DigiDestined right where he wanted them.  
  
Meanwhile, Jack and Stormdramon were working their way deep into the temple Gennai had told them about. From the outside it had looked like nothing more than a dome-like structure made of ancient stone and covered in moss, no bigger than a two-story house. The entrance was arranged in a great rectangle, twelve feet high by six feet wide. Inside was near total darkness. As Jack and Stormdramon stepped inside cautiously, a cold wind whipped around them and torches all along the inner wall burst to life, revealing a great staircase that lead to some lower level. Jack grabbed one of the torches from the wall as Stormdramon took point. Descending into the dark passageway, they reached a long, wide tunnel. The simple, brown stone was clearly quite old, and a dank, musty smell permeated the air. There was an echo in that place that seemed to go on forever. Small creatures scurried into cracks in the wall as Jack and Stormdramon approached with the light, something most of the creatures lurking down there had probably never seen. The two brave adventurers proceeded as swiftly as they dared, knowing that their help would probably be needed by the others and soon.  
  
Time passed, and Jack and Stormdramon came to a large, circular room at the end of the passage. It was very similar to the passage in appearance; very simple and made up of large, brown stones. Suddenly, there was another cold gust of wind that seemed to come from in front of them, much stronger than the last. Jack and Stormdramon shielded their eyes and grabbed onto the floor to keep from losing their footing. Immediately following the gust of wind, the circle of torches along the walls ignited, casting eerie shadows as the lights flickered. The light revealed that there was another passage much like the first at the far end of the room. Jack and Stormdramon uneasily walked forward a few more steps.  
  
"Something's not right here," said Jack.  
  
"You said it," said Stormdramon. "This feels really creepy."  
  
"So what happens next?" asked Jack.  
  
Jack didn't have to wait long for his answer. The ground started to shake and they both fell over. Jack managed to catch himself by landing with his right hand outstretched. His eyes immediately shot up to the domed ceiling of the room. He noticed a large crack begin to form in the stonework. The crack expanded rapidly and Jack swiftly turned on his heel, throwing himself at Stormdramon and pulling him out of harms way just as the great rocks fell. An instant later, a cloud of dust was sent up as Jack and Stormdramon lay on the ground with their hands over their heads. A few seconds after the terrible crashing noise, they got up again and turned around. The dust slowly settled as the pile of rock just sat there. That changed after a few seconds though, when the rocks suddenly began to shift, moving into position one-by-one. They rapidly began to form into a hulking digimon with powerful shoulders and a gorilla-like stance. Once all of the rocks were in position, the figure began to radiate a strong, yellow light. The light grew more and more intense by the second until it was nearly white before calming down. Once the light had completely died away, it was clear that Jack and Stormdramon were dealing with a Golemon.  
  
"What do you seek?" asked the Golemon in a very methodical, grainy voice.  
  
"Excuse me?" asked Stormdramon.  
  
"What do you seek?" repeated the Golemon.  
  
"The crest that lies within this temple," said Jack confidently.  
  
"Why?" asked the Golemon.  
  
"So we can get stronger," said Stormdramon.  
  
"So be it." said Golemon.  
  
The Golemon suddenly appeared to grow in size, his already fearsome arms becoming much stronger than before. Before Stormdramon could react, Golemon threw a mean left hook than belted Stormdramon back over twenty feet into a wall. Stormdramon smashed into it hard, sending out a cloud of dust.  
  
"Stormdramon!" shouted Jack.  
  
Before the dust cloud dissipated, Stormdramon jumped out in a summersault, sticking a perfect landing. He wiped the blood from the side of his mouth and curled his lips up in a smile. He spread his wings and pushed off the ground, moving in on Golemon like a bolt of lightning. Golemon pulled his right arm back as though preparing to hit Stormdramon with a downward strike. Just as Stormdramon was within a few feet, Golemon threw his punch, giving a little lead to make sure the attack was dead-on. However, at the last possible instant, Stormdramon pulled back, spreading his wings and arms and legs out, slowing himself down drastically. As a result, Golemon's punch fell several inches in front of Stormdramon, slamming into the floor with incredible force. Stormdramon was headed straight for Golemon's face, which he used as a springboard to ricochet himself up into the air over and behind Golemon for a perfect shot at his blind spot. Stormdramon flipped himself around and stopped in mid-air, facing Golemon in a standing position. He spread his wings out over his head and held his claws out to his side with his feet close together. His large, purple wings, which had a bony structure running along the inner edge that split off in two places, dividing each wing into two halves, began to tremble with power as electrical energy began to collect at each of the four tips. The electrical energy quickly charged and Stormdramon's attack was ready to fire.  
  
"Raging Storm!" shouted Stormdramon as he slapped his wings together in front of him.  
  
A solid stream of blue, electrical energy shot forth from the focal point where the tips of his wings came in contact. The propulsive force of the attack threw him backwards as the stream raked up Golemon's back, splintering off shards of rock and causing the beast to cry out in agony. The attack was brief, but the power of it was undeniable. Before Stormdramon could land, Golemon dug his fingers into the floor and yanked one of the large stones up and out of it. He turned to Stormdramon with an enraged sneer chucked the small boulder at the tiny digimon. Stormdramon did his best to avoid it, but there just wasn't enough time and the brick smashed into his stomach, pushed him into a wall, and pinned him there. After a few seconds had passed, the rock fell to the ground with a crash. Stormdramon was still plastered to the ceiling; his eyes closed and blood seeping from the various wounds all over his body. Satisfied that he had made a kill, Golemon turned back to Jack. Jack stood his ground, his eye twitching in anger as he struggled to keep himself from rushing hopelessly at Golemon. Golemon stopped with his fate mere inches from Jack's.  
  
"Don't you fear me, child?" asked Golemon.  
  
"Never," said Jack. "I don't fear bullies like you. I'm here to do what's right, to get what I need to save the DigiWorld. I'm not going to let you or anyone else get in my way! Stormdramon! We can do this!"  
  
Stormdramon's eyes shot open. Golemon turned his head back to the smaller digimon just in time to see Stormdramon come at his head with a flying kick. Golemon didn't even have time to blink before Stormdramon's powerful attack caused his whole body to buck forward, smashing him headfirst into the stone floor. Stormdramon bounded off of the beast's forehead and made a perfect landing. Jack ran back to where his friend stood.  
  
"I knew you'd be alright," said Jack. "Now let's take care of this guy!"  
  
"Right!" agreed, Stormdramon, nodding.  
  
Stormdramon once again spread his wings out over his head. Electrical energy surged around the four tips as well as in Stormdramon's eyes. The light it gave off filled the entire room as sparks of energy began to extend into a sphere around Stormdramon. Golemon managed to pull himself up, looking at Stormdramon with incredible rage in his face. He lunged at Stormdramon, his arms outstretched as though to crush Stormdramon in his hands, but Stormdramon had different plans. With his arms raised, Golemon had exposed his relatively soft underbelly. Stormdramon unleashed the full fury of his Raging Storm attack. The pulse of energy knocked Golemon the length of the room before finally drilling through his stomach. The beast disintegrated almost immediately.  
  
"You did it!" shouted Jack, picking up his friend and giving him a great big hug.  
  
"I couldn't have done it without you," said Stormdramon. "But it would've been a lot easier if you had let me digivolve."  
  
"Huh?" asked Jack, his expression suddenly turning serious. "But I was trying to help you digivolve. You just didn't do it."  
  
"What?" asked Stormdramon. "I was trying as hard as I could to digivolve, but it just wasn't happening."  
  
"Now I'm worried," said Jack. "If we were both trying to get you to digivolve, how come you didn't?"  
  
"There must be something here preventing it," said Stormdramon.  
  
"Then we might be in trouble if we don't find that crest soon," said Jack. "If we run into anyone stronger than Golemon down here we could be in serious trouble." 


	7. Fire and Ice

Elsewhere, back at the battlefield, the other DigiDestined and their digimon were having trouble with their adversary: Saberleomon. His initial attack had caught them off guard, but Mega Kabuterimon had managed to fly them to safety, allowing all the other digimon to digivolve. Garudamon was the first to go on the offensive. She dove at the rock ledge and smashed it to rubble with a terrific punch, but Saberleomon had bounded off of it just in time and landed on another ledge not too far away. He then shot thousands of needlelike hairs from his mane, directly at Garudamon. Garudamon took some damaged and was forced to back off, but Lillymon and Weregarurumon immediately replaced her. Weregarurumon drove Saberleomon back into the canyon wall with an impressive kick to the face. After Weregarurumon rebounded off Saberleomon and dug his claws onto the canyon wall opposite the evil digimon, Lillymon powered up her Flower Cannon and gave Saberleomon something to think about. The huge explosion rocked the whole chasm, but any celebration was short-lived as Saberleomon shot from the cloud of debris an instant later without a scratch on him. He plowed through Lillymon and landed right on Weregarurumon's gut, knocking the wind out of him. With a great deal of difficulty, Lillymon landed on another ledge where she collapsed to recover from her injuries. Saberleomon clawed his way up the wall one step at a time while Weregarurumon hung from the wall with one arm and held his stomach with the other. Once Saberleomon reached the summit, he stood up proudly and shook his great mane.  
  
"Hold it right there!" shouted a voice from behind him.  
  
Saberleomon turned his head with a sneer on his lips. He looked over his shoulder at Metalgreymon, who was hovering about a dozen yards behind him.  
  
"You're going down!" said Metalgreymon.  
  
"Just try it," said Saberleomon, narrowing his eyes into slits.  
  
Metalgreymon opened his breastplate and brought his missiles to bear on Saberleomon. A few seconds later, he fired his Giga Blaster directly at Saberleomon. As the missiles approached, Saberleomon let out a deafening roar that reverberated throughout the countryside. Everyone within a few miles had to clamp their hands down over the ears in an attempt to lessen the sound even a little bit. The missiles from Metalgreymon were knocked off course by the force carried by Saberleomon's technique, and they exploded harmlessly roughly a half-mile behind him. As Metalgreymon was still trying to get the ringing out of his ears, a cruel smile spread across Saberleomon's face. Suddenly, the flesh on his shoulders began to swell and move about in a truly sickening manner. Then, when the skin couldn't expand any more, four slimy, blue tentacles burst out of Saberleomon's shoulders and shot towards Metalgreymon. Saberleomon's new tentacles latched onto Metalgreymon, snaking all over his body. Once Metalgreymon was completely incapacitated, they began to squeeze tighter and tighter, choking the life from the powerful digimon. Metalgreymon tried to cry out, but all the air had already been pushed from his lungs. Things were looking bad until Weregarurmon and Zudomon intervened. Zudomon threw his hammer with incredible force, striking Saberleomon upside the head. Weregarurumon meanwhile used his Wolf Claw attack to slice through the tentacles holding Metalgreymon. Saberleomon, in order to keep himself from being knocked off the mountain entirely, dug his great claws into his rocky perch. He was nearly knocked into the air, but managed to stop himself just barely. With his tentacles cut, Saberleomon retracted the stumps back into his shoulders and turned angrily towards Zudomon. Suddenly, his eyes widened as though he was surprised while his pupils shrunk to the size of dimes. He bucked forward, apparently in pain as his muscles began to stretch and distort. Then, his skeletal frame burst through his skin, shredding away muscle and flesh. What remained of his outer covering disintegrated as his skeleton continued to grow and change shape. He clasped his hands over his head, emitting a terrifying, unnatural howl. Great bony spikes shot from his back and his skull grew big enough to swallow most of the digimon there whole. His hands grew large and powerful, with razor-sharp claws that could pierce just about anything. His great bones thickened, becoming as hard as diamonds and as resilient as steel. Finally, his transformation ceased. He removed his claws from his head as he stood up in a new glorious body. that of Skullgreymon. Skullgreymon, as the digimon had become, let out a terrible roar that shook the whole island.  
  
Meanwhile, back in the darkened passages below ground, Jack and Stormdramon awaited their next challenge with a great deal of anxiety. They had made their way down the next hallway, noting that as they went, their masonry had shifted from the ancient and loose-fitting stones to smaller, gray bricks that were cut to fit together perfectly. They had eventually reached another large room, very similar to the first. The major differences were that not only was the masonry different, but this new room also had four large columns built in a Greek style placed around the center of the room, which was an elevated, square platform. Just like the last time, there was another hallway at the far end of the room. Very cautiously, Jack and Stormdramon took a few tentative steps forward. As they began to realize that nothing was happening, they slowly started to move a bit faster. By the time they were nearing the platform in the center, they were moving at a brisk walk.  
  
"Nothin' to it," said Jack.  
  
"I guess whoever was supposed to be waiting for us here is out taking a leak," said Stormdramon.  
  
"Ha!" laughed Jack. "Now let's hurry. The others are probably getting into some trouble by now."  
  
Just as Jack placed his foot up on the platform, the ground began to shake. Jack immediately backed off, but it was too late. A very strong, very cold wind rushed at them both and hit them hard. Jack was thrown onto his back and slid back into the wall, dropping his torch in the process. Stormdramon followed close behind, landing firmly on Jack.  
  
"What the Hell.?" asked Jack, after a brief coughing fit.  
  
"Damn," said Stormdramon.  
  
When Stormdramon tried to stand up he immediately slipped and fell again, landing on his face.  
  
"Whoa, let me help you up," said Jack, grabbing onto the wall and pulling himself to his feet.  
  
After only being on his feet for a second or two, Jack slipped, landing right on his ass. As Jack rubbed his sore posterior with an embarrassed look on his face, Stormdramon tried standing up again. This time though, he wisely dug his claws into the ground to keep from falling. It was a little tricky, but Stormdramon was on his feet. He carefully looked down at the ground and realized that it was completely covered in a thin sheet of ice.  
  
"Hey Jack," said Stormdramon. "Where did that torch go?"  
  
"Beats me," said Jack.  
  
"Well we had better find it," asserted Stormdramon. "We won't be able to fight if we can't see."  
  
"Well unless you brought some matches it won't do us any good," said Jack. "It must've gone out."  
  
"Well what do you suggest we do?" asked Stormdramon.  
  
Before Jack could reply, a cold blue luminescence flooded over the room. It wasn't the best lighting, but at least it was something. The pair quickly realized that a sudden change had overcome the room. Ice crystals had formed throughout the great hall. Icy fingers had made their way up the walls and pillars, and great spikes of ice hung from the ceiling while others jutted from the floor. Jack noticed that he could see his and Stormdramon's breath. The entrance had been completely iced over, so they were trapped unless they could make it to the opposite end of the room.  
  
"Much better." said a youthful voice from overhead.  
  
Jack and Stormed stared skyward. Hanging over the elevated platform like a giant bat was a creature with broad, white wings wrapped about it.  
  
"Who are you?!" demanded Jack, clenching his fist as he carefully stood up.  
  
The creature did nothing but chuckle to itself as it vanished into thin air. Jack and Stormdramon looked about nervously.  
  
"Wouldn't you like to know?" said the creepy voice from over Jack's right shoulder.  
  
Jack felt an ice-cold claw on his shoulder, so he immediately turned around, but he saw nothing there. Only a few traces of a breath still wafted in the air.  
  
"Your trek ends here," said the voice again, this time from the center platform.  
  
Jack turned around again. He and Stormdramon stared up at the creature with its leathery wings wrapped about it. They could make out a pair of red, luminous eyes behind those wings.  
  
"I'm not going to ask you again." said Jack, confident as ever. "Who the Hell are you?"  
  
"Well, well," said the creature. "I was hoping to have a little fun first, but it seems you want to get right down to business. Oh well, I guess I can have fun later, watching your terror-filled eyes, frozen forever in an icy prison. Very well. My name is."  
  
The vile digimon spread its wings. It was non other than the infamous Ice Devimon.  
  
".Ice Devimon," said the villainous digimon.  
  
"Good," said Jack. "I like to know what name to put on the tombstone."  
  
Jack cracked his knuckles as Stormdramon stretched his neck.  
  
"Cocky, aren't you?" asked Ice Devimon. "Have it your way. I'm gonna' enjoy this."  
  
A cruel smile crossed Ice Devimon's lips as he bared his claws. Stormdramon activated an electrical field around himself, causing his hair to be blown about as sparks of energy shot from his eyes.  
  
"Let's get this over with." said Stormdramon.  
  
"You're mine!" shouted Ice Devimon, launching himself off the platform and striking Stormdramon squarely on the jaw with a powerful kick.  
  
Stormdramon was thrown back against one of the frozen walls and was stunned by the impact. Ice Devimon rushed at him with his right claw outstretched and ready to strike the final blow. Stormdramon had other plans through. He dug his fingers into brick right over his head and pulled himself up extremely quickly, catching Ice Devimon's chin with a potent kick. Ice Devimon backed off, holding his chin in both hands. Stormdramon dug his toes into the wall and glared at Ice Devimon. He reached up with his right hand and grabbed onto his dislocated jaw, snapping it back into place. Ice Devimon gave a quick smirk, and then he surprised Stormdramon by suddenly launching a ball of spit at him. Stormdramon jumped off the wall just in time to avoid Ice Devimon's loogie, which instantly caused a large section of the wall to freeze on contact. Stormdramon did a somersault over Ice Devimon's head and landed firmly behind him. Moving with incredible speed, Stormdramon spun about and unleashed his Raging Storm right at Ice Devimon as he turned to face his pint-sized opponent. The blast knocked Ice Devimon back into the wall and sent shards of ice flying in every direction. Stormdramon stared intently at the cloud of dust and icy mist hanging in the air, waiting for Ice Devimon to make his appearance. He was staring so carefully at where he though Ice Devimon was that he failed to notice in time that the evil digimon had appeared behind him. Stormdramon had barely managed to turn his head to face his icy enemy when Ice Devimon elbowed him in the back of the skull, sending him soaring across the room. Ice Devimon disappeared and reappeared once again in Stormdramon's path. He clasped his hands together and smashed them down on Stormdramon as he reached Ice Devimon. Stormdramon crashed to the ground hard, creating a small crater over three feet deep. He got up onto one knee, clearly in pain, but Ice Devimon attacked again, slicing ferociously at Stormdramon. As five crimson lines streaked across Stormdramon's face and torso, he flew back, letting out a cry of pain.  
  
"No!" shouted Jack. "Stormdramon!"  
  
Ice Devimon backhanded Stormdramon, hitting him into on of the pillars. Stormdramon fell to the ground and sprawled over the ice, panting heavily.  
  
"Time to die!" said Ice Devimon, standing in front of Stormdramon.  
  
Ice Devimon kicked Stormdramon up to his eye-level. Then Ice Devimon began to treat Stormdramon like a punching back throwing punches so rapidly that Stormdramon didn't even have time to fall back to the ground. Instead, he just kept on getting pounded against the pillar by Ice Devimon's brutal assault. Slowly, the ice surrounding the pillar began to crack, and so did the pillar itself. After nearly thirty seconds of this brutal punishment, Ice Devimon decided it was time to end things. He grabbed Stormdramon by the throat with his left hand, holding him back against the great column of ice.  
  
"All too easy." said Ice Devimon, his voice becoming deep and menacing.  
  
Stormdramon coughed up some blood as Ice Devimon pulled his right arm back, his claws outstretched. Stormdramon could hear the tendons in Ice Devimon's arm tightening as a cruel smirk crossed his face. Stormdramon shut his eyes tight in preparation for the blow, but it never came. Just as Ice Devimon was about to unleash his attack, Jack had leaped up onto his back and grabbed him by the throat, trying desperately to choke the life out of him, or at least to save Stormdramon. Ice Devimon released Stormdramon and began to claw at Jack with both hands but Jack was able to dodge his swipes. Stormdramon fell to his knees, coughing up more blood and panting heavily. His sweat-soaked hair fell over his eyes as he looked up at Jack and Ice Devimon. Ice Devimon had stopped his struggling.  
  
"Giving up?" asked Jack from his perch up on Ice Devimon's shoulders.  
  
"Not quite." said Ice Devimon.  
  
Ice Devimon's head turned around 180 degrees with a sickening crunching sound, facing up at Jack. Jack looked down, making a simultaneously disgusted and shocked face. Ice Devimon opened his mouth wide and shot a freezing mist at Jack. Jack fell from Ice Devimon's shoulders, screaming in agony as he tried to remove the sheet of ice that had formed on most of his face and chest after exposure to Ice Devimon's attack. Ice Devimon meanwhile twisted his head back to its normal position just in time to see an extremely pissed off Stormdramon launch his Raging Storm right at his chest. Ice Devimon was thrown across the room and smashed into the wall. Stormdramon meanwhile ran to Jack.  
  
"Jack!" shouted Stormdramon, shaking his friend. "Are you alright?!"  
  
Jack clawed at the ice covering his face.  
  
"Just hang on!" shouted Stormdramon. "I'm gonna' get you out of here!"  
  
".No." murmured Jack.  
  
"What?" asked Stormdramon.  
  
"No!" asserted Jack.  
  
"What the Hell are you talking about?!" demanded Stormdramon. "You need to be somewhere safe."  
  
"We're not leaving!" said Jack, moving up onto one knee.  
  
"We have no choice!" said Stormdramon.  
  
"No!" said Jack. "I'm not about to be beaten by this pathetic excuse for a digimon! The others need us and we will deliver!"  
  
Stormdramon just listened as he helped break up the ice that was still clinging to Jack.  
  
"Are you with me on this one?" asked Jack, taking his digivice out of his coat pocket.  
  
"Always." said Stormdramon.  
  
"Then let's take care of this guy," said Jack.  
  
"Let's teach him a lesson about messing with us!" said Stormdramon, punching the palm of his hand.  
  
"Now." said Jack, holding his digivice out in front of him. "Stormdramon! Digivolve!"  
  
Stormdramon began to glow white as Ice Devimon looked on, his expression frozen in a look of uncertainty. Stormdramon grew much larger, once again making the transformation to Dracomon. He stood in front of Jack, seething in anger towards Ice Devimon. He flexed his muscles, slowly beating his huge wings back and forth. He narrowed his eyes at Ice Devimon as he bared his teeth and clenched his fists.  
  
"Go," said Jack.  
  
Dracomon was off like a rocket. He ran at Ice Devimon and smashed his fist into the wall as the evil digimon flew out of the line of fire, landing behind Dracomon. Dracomon anticipated this though and used his tail to grab Ice Devimon by the ankle. He picked up Ice Devimon and hung him upside down. Before Ice Devimon could react, Dracomon spun around and hit him solidly in the chest with a punch that could have flattened a building. Ice Devimon flew back, crashing into the column that he had had Stormdramon pinned against just a short time before. Ice Devimon rubbed his head as he tried to stand up again. He could do nothing as Dracomon approached him, ready to kill him. Dracomon hit Ice Devimon with another stunning punch, which struck just below his rib cage, instantly causing several of Ice Devimon's vital organs to hemorrhage. As Ice Devimon fell to his knees, gripping his stomach, Dracomon hit him under the chin with his knee, forcing the digimon to his feet again. One last punch to Ice Devimon's chest embedded him deep in the pillar, which then finally gave out. The cracks that had begun to form earlier had taken their toll, and the whole thing began to break apart. Dracomon abandoned Ice Devimon and rushed over to Jack, shielding him with his wings. The thunderous sound of the collapsing pillar was quite terrible. Tons of ice and rock rained down on Ice Devimon from above. Once the dust had cleared, it all seemed to be over.  
  
"Wow." said Jack as he knocked the last large pieces of ice from his chest. "You really cleaned his clock."  
  
"Yeah." said Dracomon, breathing heavily.  
  
Slowly, the two of them approached the pile of debris that reached right up to the hole in the ceiling.  
  
"This place is probably becoming unstable," said Dracomon. "We should hurry up and find that crest."  
  
"Right," said Jack.  
  
Just as the turned to go there was a rumbling from underneath the pile of debris. They both turned to see it all being blown away, and a very angry, very injured Ice Devimon standing where it had been.  
  
"You." said Ice Devimon.  
  
"More?" asked Dracomon.  
  
Ice Devimon forced both of his hands forward, shooting a stream of super- cold air from them. Dracomon folded his wings in front of him and let the attack hit. Once Ice Devimon was done, it was clear that he had done little more than add a thick sheet of ice to Dracomon's wings. One quick flap shook the ice free.  
  
"Jack," said Dracomon. "Go to the tunnel and wait."  
  
"But." said Jack.  
  
"Go now!" shouted Dracomon.  
  
".Right," said Jack as he ran for the tunnel. "Be careful!"  
  
Dracomon returned his attention to Ice Devimon, a look of cruel determination on his face. His eyes began to radiate a strong white light as the ground below him began to shake. Chunks of ice on the ground around him began to rise up as waves of energy began to shoot from his body. Ice Devimon fired another cold blast at him, but Dracomon simply deflected it with his arm. Ice Devimon was running scared, but there was nowhere to go. He backed down with a fearful expression on his face as Dracomon slowly began to levitate, his wings outspread. The rumbling grew worse as bolts of electricity moved all over Dracomon's muscles. He spread his arms and legs out wide as his tail flicked about anxiously. He opened his fearsome mouth, revealing rows of terrible fangs. A burning light grew from inside Dracomon's belly and began to lick at the sides of his mouth. The energy soon grew to overflowing, collecting in a large sphere around Dracomon's muzzle. Ice Devimon cried out as Dracomon reared back ready to strike.  
  
"Mega Flare!" shouted Dracomon as the orange, burning, swirling energy around his mandibles instantly compressed into a single point of light.  
  
The light then shot out in the form of an incredibly intense stream of superheated gas, burning a brilliant orange and searing the air. All the nearby ice melted almost instantaneously as the enlarged head of the attack burned through the air, right at Ice Devimon. Ice Devimon shrieked in agony as the attack tore through his body and combusted. The burning energy filled the entire room, searing everything it touched with the exception of Dracomon himself. The incredible stress caused the already weakened ceiling to give out, and it quickly began to collapse. Dracomon managed to regain his senses just in time to make a break for the tunnel. The collapsing roof was mere inches behind him, but he made it, diving into the tunnel and rolling along the ground a few times before coming to a stop. Jack ran over to meet him.  
  
"Dracomon!" shouted Jack. "You did it buddy!"  
  
"It's about time," said Dracomon, smiling.  
  
Jack smiled too and gave Dracomon a hug.  
  
"So what now?" asked Dracomon.  
  
"We keep on going," said Jack, looking at the collapsed room behind them. "I mean, we certainly can't go back."  
  
"Right," said Dracomon. 


	8. Total Destruction

[Before we get started, there are just a few things. I want to say thanks to everyone who has reviewed me and I'd love to hear some more of what people think about it. Also, it might interest you that I'm not only a pretty good writer, but I'm also a notably skilled artist. I've made some sketches of many of the digimon and original human characters that appear in my fics. According to everyone who has ever seen them, they are quite sweet. Only problem is, I have no place to display them online. If anyone has a website that would be willing to display some of my pics, I would be grateful, as would the other readers I'm sure. Anyway, that's just about enough of that. On with the show!]  
  
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Back at Infinity Mountain, things were getting much worse.  Skullgreymon sat high on his rocky perch, repeatedly firing his Dark Shot attack in random directions.  His brutal attacks had devastated most of the island, while the DigiDestined and their digimon had managed to take shelter behind a large, rocky hill, not far from Infinity Mountain.

"Call me crazy…" said Matt, looking on as another massive explosion tore through a square mile of forest.  "But I think we're pretty screwed."

"Not yet," said Tai, reclining against a small boulder.  "Not even Skullgreymon can beat two Mega digimon."

"Well yeah," said Matt.  "But the last time I checked, only Agumon could warp digivolve.  Gabumon hasn't become Metalgarurumon in years."

"Well when exactly WAS the last time you checked?" asked Tai as he stood up.  "Give it a shot.  It's not like we have anything to lose."

"Well…" mused Matt as the shock wave from another explosion reached them, sending a strong wind.  "I guess you're right."

"Sweet," said Tai, turning to face Metalgreymon.  "Hey buddy!  Change of plans!"

"What's up?' asked Metalgreymon.

"We need you to warp digivolve," said Tai.  "That should be more than enough to take care of this bonehead."

"You too," said Matt to Weregarurumon.

"Me?" asked Weregarurumon.  "But I don't even know if I can!  I'm a little rusty you know."

"Well two heads are better than one," said Matt.  "You should at least take a crack at it."

"Agreed," said Weregarurumon with a nod.

"Alright then," said Tai as he held out his digivice.

"Let's get this over with," said Matt, doing the same.

Metalgreymon and Weregarurumon felt their energy drain away as they reverted to their Rookie forms.

"Time to teach this guy a lesson," said Agumon.

Agumon felt his muscles tighten as his eyes grew wide.  He felt a tingling sensation around his fingers and toes as a swirling, golden energy surrounded him.  Tai's digivice began to shake violently and radiate an orange light.

"Now!" shouted Tai.

An intense light shot from every angle of Tai's digivice as Agumon felt his energy skyrocket.  He managed to warp digivolve to Wargreymon once again.

"You too," said Matt.

Gabumon's fur all stood on end as his blood red eyes overwhelmed his pupils.  A cold wind whipped around him, accompanied by sparks of electrical energy.  His tail twitched back and forth, as his fur coat seemed to grow longer, flowing about him.  He bared his vicious fangs as his muscles swelled with power.

"I feel it…" said Gabumon.

A pillar of blinding white light formed around Gabumon as Matt's digivice reacted very much like Tai's, with the obvious exception that it was giving off an intense blue light rather than orange.  Moments later, Gabumon had once again successfully digivolved to Metalgarurumon.

"You're back!" said Matt, running up to Metalgarurumon and stroking his muzzle.  "I missed this form."

"How's that?" asked Metalgarurumon.

"It's your only form that comes with power seating and air conditioning," joked Matt.

Metalgarurumon and Matt both began to laugh.

"There's no time for kidding around," said Izzy.  "It's time to take this guy out of the picture."

"Right," said all the others.

"Here's the plan…" said Izzy.

Once Izzy had finished explaining the intricacies of his strategy, without the use of visual aids mind you, the DigiDestined were ready to recommence their battle.  Meanwhile, Skullgreymon had stopped his random assaults, knowing the DigiDestined would reveal themselves in due course.  His suspicions proved correct as he saw Garudamon coming in on a rapid approach vector.  What could only be described as a grin stretched itself over Skullgreymon's face as he turned towards the great bird and readied his Dark Shot.  Moments later, the fleshy, shark-like missile burst from Skullgreymon's spine and twisted through the skies, approaching Garudamon.

"Now!" shouted Sora from he seated position in the thick feathers around Garudamon's neck.

Garudamon obeyed instantly, diving straight down and allowing the missile to pass right over her head.  Skullgreymon was dumbstruck by his miss, giving Zudomon and Mega Kabuterimon enough time to launch their Horn Buster and Vulcan's Hammer attacks at Skullgreymon from the edge of the forest, far below.  The evil digimon was knocked back by the attacks.  He looked as though he could have easily toppled over backward and fallen back into Infinity Mountain.  He managed to regain his composure though, and he slowly turned his massive head to face Mega Kabuterimon and Zudomon.  His empty eye sockets began to give off a fearsome, red glow as he brought his Dark Shot to bear on the two Ultimates and their partners.

"Wait for it…" said Izzy from Mega Kabuterimon's back.

"Come on guys…" said Joe from Zudomon's back.

Skullgreymon ejected the missile from his back with impressive force.  The projectile soared upwards before coming about sharply, now on a direct course for Mega Kabuterimon and Zudomon.

"Wait for it…" said Izzy.

The missile continued to head towards them at breakneck speed.  Skullgreymon began to drool in anticipation of his victory.  At the last second though, just before the missile smashed into the ground where Zudomon and Mega Kabuterimon stood, Wargreymon lunged from the trees and caught Skullgreymon's missile in mid-air, holding it with his powerful arms.

"Now!" shouted Izzy.

Skullgreymon's eyes widened in surprise as Metalgarurumon plowed into him from behind, throwing all of his weight against the evil digimon.  Skullgreymon landed face-first in the dirt, but he recovered quickly.  He rose up on his claws and turned his frightful face to Metalgarurumon.

"Don't look now, ugly…" said Matt, a cocky smile on his face as he looked up over Skullgreymon's shoulder.

Skullgreymon followed Matt's gaze up to where Lillymon was floating.  Her wings beat furiously as green energy collected around her flower cannon.  The wind from her beating wings caused her petals and vine-like hair to flail about wildly as she charged up her attack to full power.

"Looks to me like you've got double trouble," said a voice from Skullgreymon's other side.

He turned to see Garudamon hovering there, a look of fierce determination in her eyes.

"It's over," said Garudamon.

The great bird flexed her muscles as all of her feathers stood on end.  The burning-red tips of her wings began to glow as a swirling wall of fire began to swell up around her.  Skullgreymon was stunned, unable or unwilling to move, whether it was because of fear or something else.

"Do it!" shouted Sora.

Garudamon and Lillymon unleashed their fully charged attacks simultaneously.  Lillymon's Flower Cannon unleashed a massive ball of pulsating, green energy that kicked up such a wind that it knocked her back several yards and threw her vine-like hair back behind her.  The swirling fire moving around Garudamon collected in between her hands and was absorbed into her body.  As she finally concentrated all her power within her wings, she gave a mighty flap forward, sending out a tidal wave of burning death; her Wing Blade attack.  Lillymon's and Garudamon's attacks rushed towards Skullgreymon as Metalgarurumon bounded away from the area as fast as he could.  The attacks met Skullgreymon together.  Lillymon's attack created a cataclysmic explosion that sent up a cloud of dust a mile high, while Garudamon's attack seared through the mountainside, reducing the ground that Skullgreymon had been standing on to a flowing river of lava.

Now it was Zudomon and Mega Kabuterimon's turn.  Zudomon gripped his massive hammer with both hands as his huge muscles bulged, building up incredible strength.  Sparks of electrical energy shot up around the horn atop his head as he bared his teeth and let out a low growl that seemed to reverberate throughout the area.  Slowly he brought his hammer up behind his back, ready to strike.  Mega Kabuterimon meanwhile dug his hands and feet into the ground as a strong electric field surrounded him.  He seemed to glow as sparks, ranging in size from static electricity to lightning bolts flared up about him.  He too began to growl as the ground around him began to shake violently.  The combined snarls of Zudomon and Mega Kabuterimon caused a tremor to run throughout all of File Island.  Then, they unleashed their attacks.  The electrical surges around Mega Kabuterimon all dispersed instantaneously and were replaced by a steady, yellow light that radiated from radiated from the small point of light hovering between the points of his horn.  The point of light grew rapidly, causing Mega Kabuterimon's entire body to quake as wave after wave of electrical surge poured off the field of energy.  Then, he released the magnificent bolt of energy.  Mega Kabuterimon was forced back about ten yards, despite his solid hold on the ground, from the sheer force of his attack.  A golden stream of electrical energy with smaller bolts of blue lightning encircling it tore through the sky on a direct course for Skullgreymon.  Zudomon was prepared too.  With every ounce of strength he had in him, he brought his Vulcan's Hammer forward, smashing it down into the solid earth.  The force of the blow was incredible to say the least; it immediately caused the ground underfoot to splinter.  The huge cracks spread out in a near-circle for over a hundred feet as soil was thrown into the air, trees were uprooted, and boulders were tossed about like rag-dolls.  A blinding field of golden light sprang up from where the thunderous blow had struck, forming a pillar of glowing light around Zudomon.  Then, a pulse of light shot through the air on a direct course for Skullgreymon, carrying with it all the force that Zudomon had struck the ground with.  The two supercharged attacks converged simultaneously on the massive dust cloud in which Skullgreymon lay.  They struck together, sending out a devastating explosion that rocked the whole island with its ferocity.  The awesome blow had taken off what had remained of the Infinity Mountain summit.  Zudomon fell onto one knee and leaned against his hammer, thoroughly exhausted.  Mega Kabuterimon too was almost completely drained of energy, so he fell flat on his stomach, barely even moving.

"You're up guys!" shouted Izzy.

"Give 'em Hell!" shouted Sora.

"No problem!" shouted Matt.

Metalgarurumon emerged from behind the wall of smoke and ash that blanketed the sky.  He flew around the front and came to a dead stop.

"Do it!" shouted Matt.

Metalgarurumon narrowed his eyes as every single weapons system on his entire body came online.  Nearly every inch of his metallic body opened to reveal another weapon of mass destruction.  Missiles, machine guns, and lasers all popped out into the open, ready to unleash Hell.

"Devastation!" shouted out Metalgarurumon.

Every last weapon he had fired immediately.  A wave of missiles big enough to level a city ejected from his body and powered up their engines as lasers from his snout, shoulders, legs, and body sliced at every angle of whatever remained below and twin .50 caliber machine guns on his shoulders sprayed the area with bullets.  The missiles soared to their target, striking with phenomenal accuracy and destructive power each time, all topped off with the biggest missile Metalgarurumon could store within him, a weapon nearly as big as Matt's entire body that nearly collapsed the entire face of Infinity Mountain when it struck.  Metalgarurumon kept on firing into the cold blue explosion until he had fired off every round and his lasers had all overheated.  At that point he slapped all his weapons ports shut again and flew off down to where Garudamon and Lillymon had rendezvoused with Zudomon and Mega Kabuterimon.

"You're up Tai!" shouted Matt as he passed by Tai and Wargreymon, who was still holding on tight to Skullgreymon's missile.

"You heard him!" said Tai.  "Let's do this!"

"Right!" said Wargreymon.

Wargreymon took flight, heading up to an altitude where Skullgreymon would have been.  He carefully aimed the missile, which still had its propulsion system going full blast, towards Skullgreymon's resting-place as Tai cheered him on from the great digimon's shoulders.  Wargreymon released the missile and it took off, plowing into the mountain and setting off yet another catastrophic explosion.  With his arms free, Wargreymon brought his claws up over his head.  His eyes betrayed a strong sense of determination and finality.  His bright red hair stood on end as a sphere of strange energy surrounded him.  Tai felt strange; his hair was completely spiked up and yet the air seemed strangely calm, like being in the eye of a tornado.  He looked down at his hand, moving it back and forth.  His movements left a visible trail, an after-image that sent ripples through the surrounding air.  Streams of fiery light snaked their way up Wargreymon's claws and collected in the space between their tips.  Wargreymon began to shake violently as his muscles bulged bigger than ever before.  A strange humming sound seemed to be emitted from the field of energy around him, which had begun to condense to that point in between his claws with the fiery orange light.

"Finish it," said Tai.

Wargreymon nodded.  As the sphere of energy was condensed down to an infinitely small size, crossing over to mix with the other energy that had already collected there.  It all instantly flared up, expanding to a size barely big enough for Wargreymon to control.  The massive, swirling ball of flame that surged in his hands was like a star just before it exploded.

"Terra Force!" shouted Wargreymon, lobbing the attack at his opponent with deadly accuracy.

The sphere of energy left a burning tail in its wake as it scorched the very air in its path.  The sphere of energy with the indescribable power contained therein pierced right through the mountainside as though it were no more than the air, flowing right down to the very center of the mountain, deep below the surface.  Once there, it exploded, unleashing the full force of Wargreymon's fury.  The explosion sent a wave rippling through the ground for miles as a burning light shot up around the base of the mountain.  Burning energy spouted from the hole in the side of the mountain where Skullgreymon had been like a geyser.  The already decimated mountain-face finally collapsed entirely, leaving nothing but a great wall of ash, molten rock, half a mountain, and horrific destruction in its wake.

Wargreymon landed again, never taking his eyes off the chaotic scene in front of him.  With the others all standing behind him in awe, he collapsed to his knees, sweating profusely and breathing heavily.


	9. The Tin Man

 "You ready buddy?" asked Jack.

"I don't know," replied Dracomon.

The two of them were very near to the end of their journey.  They had reached the very edge of the third chamber.  It was very dark in there, and the walls had once again changed.  The walls, ceiling, and floor were all made of thick, plated steel, riveted together.  There was a low, mechanical hum emanating from the room ahead and the fact that they no longer had a torch made them even more reluctant to enter.

"Well I don't think we have much choice," said Dracomon.

"I guess you're right," responded Jack.

"You're not losing your nerve, are you?" asked Dracomon.

"Of course not!" said Jack.  "I'm just worried about you is all."

"How touching," said Dracomon.  "Now if we're done with this 'Kodak moment', I'd like to get in their and take care of business."

"Whatever," said Jack, looking a little peeved.

Slowly, the two of them stepped into the room.  Bit-by-bit they went forward.  The air in the room was very stale and a hint of motor oil could be sensed, wafting through the air.  The sounds of their steps were greatly amplified by the cold steel underfoot.

"I don't like this one bit," said Jack, looking about suspiciously in the dark.  "Something feels very wrong."

"Well of course it does," said Dracomon.  "I mean this isn't exactly designed to be the most welcoming place in the DigiWorld."

"Now look here Dracomon," said Jack.  "I've had just about-"

Before Jack could get out another word a multitude of blinking lights flashed on all over the room.  Tiny specks of red or white light flashed on and off in the darkness as numerous mechanical devices whirred to life in the distance.  Slowly, one-by-one, glowing blue monitors flipped on throughout the room, providing some light.  It now appeared that their were dozens if not hundreds of computers and such attached to the walls, looking as though they had been grown like thick vines.  Monitors, circuitry, consoles, and the like stuck out from the walls at odd angles.  It was amazing that most of the equipment even worked, as most of it was very much exposed.  Irregularly spaced around the room were five or six stacks of organic-appearing computer equipment, which acted like pillars, stretching up to the ceiling.  The lights continued to flicker while the monitors displayed nothing but static as the room came further into focus.

"Whoa…" muttered Jack, gawking at the sight before him.

"You got that right," said Dracomon, doing the same.

"Hey!  Look!" said Jack, pointing to the far end of the room.

Dracomon did as Jack instructed, peering across the floor.  His eyes met with nothing but a solid metal wall with exposed circuitry running over it.

"So?" asked Dracomon.

"Don't you get it?" asked Jack.  "There's no hallway over there!"

"This is the last chamber!" said Dracomon.  "We're almost done here!"

"Negative," said a robotic voice from the various speakers amid the piles of electric junk.

"Huh?" asked Dracomon and Jack together.

"You still have one battle ahead of you, and it will not be easy," asserted the voice.

"Oh yeah?!" said Jack.  "Well we'll just see about that!"

There was a momentary pause.

"What, are ya', scared?" asked Jack.

"What do you seek?" asked the voice.

Jack was thrown off balance by the question.

"What do you mean?" asked Jack.

"What do you seek?" repeated the voice.

"Well, I guess we're looking for my crest," said Jack.

"Why?" asked the voice.

"So we can help put a stop to the menacing force that is trying to destroy this world," said Jack.  "So we can be useful for a change.  So Dracomon will be strong enough to be safe from harm.  So we can make a difference."

"…An honorable answer, boy," said the voice.  "You may be worthy of receiving the crest.  But as you know, actions speak louder than words…"

There was a series of mechanical sounds as a jumble of electronic equipment was lowered from them middle of the ceiling in a large ball of wires.  Now more than ever it seemed as though the room itself was alive.  Beneath the wiring, circuits, data cards, and whatnot, Jack could just barely make out a figure within the ball of circuitry.

"Dracomon, you're up," said Jack.

"Right…" said Dracomon as a bead of sweat ran down his forehead.

The ball of equipment lowered all the way to the floor, touching down softly.  Most of the wires pulled back in a matter of seconds, taking the vast majority of the other equipment with them.  All that remained were a bunch of thick, black cables, stretching down from the ceiling and plugged directly into the powerful body of an Andromon, who had his eyes closed.

"It is time…" said Andromon opening his eyes, quickly.

Andromon expelled the cables from his body, shooting of a few sparks of electricity at every connecting point.  He got into a fighting stance with his right leg extended forward a great deal, his left leg bent and supporting nearly all of his weight, his right arm pulled across his chest, and his left arm cocked behind his head.  He was staring directly into Dracomon's eyes.

"Jack…" whispered Dracomon.

"Yeah?" asked Jack.

"Hide someplace," said Dracomon.  "This is gonna' get rough."

"But I…" started Jack.

"No buts," said Dracomon.  "There's no time to argue about this.  Just find some cover."

"But what about you?" asked Jack.

"I'll be fine," said Dracomon.  "I'm built for fighting.  You aren't."

"Well, I won't be too far away," said Jack.  "Just in case you need me."

"Right…" said Dracomon, giving a slight smile.  "Now go."

Jack swiftly ran over to the wall, under the shallow cover of some computers.

"Now it's just you and me…" said Dracomon.

"You are incapable of defeating me as you are now…" said Andromon.  "You will be eliminated."

"We'll see about that!" screamed Dracomon, lunging forward at Andromon.

Dracomon caught Andromon off-guard, scoring a solid punch to the cyborg's face.  Dracomon immediately followed up his initial attack with a left hook to the gut, causing Andromon to bend forward and leaving the back of his skull open to attack.  Dracomon raised his right arm up over his head and then brought his elbow down hard on the base of Andromon's skull.  Andromon collapsed onto his face.  Dracomon pulled back his right arm again, extending his razor-sharp claws.  He took aim for Andromon's spine and let fly, but his attack hit nothing but the cold, steel floor.  Andromon had rolled out of the way of the attack with truly unexpected speed.  Dracomon barely had time to think before Andromon appeared behind him and scored a powerful kick to the right side of his head, catapulting him across the room and ramming him into one of the walls.  He shouted out as an electrical surge washed over his body.  After a few seconds, he fell to the ground, giving off smoke and the smell of burnt hair and skin.

"All tactical data thus far demonstrates your weakness," said Andromon, calmly approaching Dracomon.  "Are you capable of demonstrating any more power than you have thus far?"

"I've still got a few tricks up my sleeve" said Dracomon, shakily pushing himself up.

"Sleeve?" asked Andromon.  "I do not compre-"

As Andromon was thinking, Dracomon dug his feet into the floor and used it as a springboard to push himself forward.  Andromon didn't have time to react before Dracomon was already upon him.  Dracomon dug his claws into Andromon's shoulders and held on tight, throwing both of them into a roll.  They bounced across the ground together for a few dozen feet before coming to a stop.  Dracomon took advantage of Andromon's dazed state by clawing viciously at his chest-plate, which unfortunately was sustaining no more than minor scratches.  After a few seconds of this, Andromon regained his senses and reached his legs up under Dracomon's belly.  Andromon pressed against Dracomon with the power of a freight train, throwing the great beast across the room.  Dracomon landed and dug his feet and left hand into the ground, tearing up the flooring as he brought himself to a stop.

"Analyzing…" said Andromon as he stood up again.  "Tactical analysis: combatant specializes in close-range attack.  Maintain a minimum distance of fifty feet at all times."

Dracomon shouted out as he once threw himself at Andromon, but this time the nimble cyborg dodged to the side, causing Dracomon to drop harmlessly to the ground.  He immediately turned on his heel and threw a mean punch at Andromon, but the mechanical digimon backpedaled, dodging the attack once again and throwing Dracomon off balance.  As Dracomon tried to regain his composure, Andromon caught him on the chin with an axe kick, knocking him back head-over-heels.  Dracomon landed right on his torso and just laid there as Andromon back-flipped his way across the room to get some distance between him and his adversary.  Once Andromon had gotten about sixty feet between Dracomon and himself, he stopped and began to prepare for whatever Dracomon attacked with next.

Dracomon stood up shakily, his eyes twitching and beads of sweat running down his face.  Bruises had already started to form around his head in particular, and he had received a small cut on his chin from the last attack.

"Here comes surprise number two…" said Dracomon as an orange light swelled up through his mouth from within his belly.  "Mega Flare!"

With impressive speed, Dracomon expelled a ball of burning, orange fire with a narrow ring of flame running around it, perpendicular to the ground.  The attack bolted through the air, striking Andromon solidly on the chest and causing an explosion that shook the whole temple.  Dracomon remained in his fighting stance as he stared at the thick cloud of dust that had slowly begun to settle after the explosion.  Suddenly, a strip of blue energy shot from the cloud.  Dracomon turned to the right as the attack passed within inches of his torso.

"Error…" said Andromon as the dust cloud finally dissipated.  "Correct two degrees right."

Andromon began to spin his right hand like a drill and began to charge it with bluish electricity.  He then slashed at the air, releasing another of his Lightning Blades.  The attack sliced through the air towards its target, but Dracomon dodged to the left this time.  Then the attacks began to come at him constantly.  He did his best, dodging Andromon's attacks with amazing agility; moving right, left, up, and down so quickly his movements could barely be followed.  Inevitably though, Andromon's speed proved too much for Dracomon as one of Andromon's Lightning Blades nicked his left arm, just over the elbow.  Dracomon instinctively grabbed onto his injured appendage, causing him to lose speed.  Three more attacks instantly crashed into Dracomon's torso, cutting deep wounds.  As he cried out in pain, he was thrown him back against one of the pillars.

"Tactical analysis completed," said Andromon, walking swiftly forward as his eyes turned completely red.  "Disposing of opponent."

Dracomon tried to rise to his feet once again, but Andromon put on a burst of speed, grabbing Dracomon by the throat with his left hand and squeezing.  Andromon lifted Dracomon up off the ground and clenched his right hand into a fist.  He then released a brutal uppercut into Dracomon's abdomen, causing the dragon-type digimon to hack up a lot of mucous and blood.  Again, Andromon struck Dracomon in the gut with an uppercut.  Dracomon tried gripped his stomach and bit down hard with his eyes shut tight.  A third uppercut caused tears to come to Dracomon's eyes as he attempted to curl up into the fetal position, but he couldn't for lack of strength.  Jack looked on in horror as his friend was mercilessly pummeled.  Andromon then released Dracomon and the beast began to fall towards the ground.  He didn't make it very far though, as Andromon hit him in the face with his most powerful punch yet just as Dracomon's head reached the ideal punching height.  Dracomon was sent flying backward through a pillar of electronics and smashing into a wall, where he stuck from the force of the impact.  Dracomon coughed again as blood began to flow freely from his mouth.

"Hang on buddy!" shouted Jack as he ran from his hiding place on a direct course for Andromon.

Jack grabbed a heavy shard of torn metal, approximately the size of a baseball bat, from the floor.  He raised it up over his head, shouting out as he approached Andromon from behind.  Andromon didn't even bother to turn his head, he simply waited for Jack's approach.  Just as Jack was about to bring the steel shard down on the back of Andromon's skull, Andromon swung his arm out, hitting Jack with a huge amount of force right in the stomach.  Jack instantly dropped his weapon and slid back across the floor, coming to a rest after nearly a hundred feet.  He doubled over in pain as he tried to get up in a daze, gripping his stomach.

"Tactical analysis of secondary objective…" said Andromon, his eyes flashing.  "No threat detected.  Moving on to primary objective."

Andromon once again approached Dracomon.  He extended his right hand as he walked.  The appendage began to spin about, slowly at first but quickly picking up the pace.  Soon, his drill-like hand appeared to be a solid spike, and a very deadly looking one at that.  He stopped several feet in front of Dracomon, who could just barely open one eye.

"Executing finishing sequence…" said Andromon, pulling back his right arm to strike.

"No…" croaked a voice from behind him.

Andromon turned his head and looked down on Jack, who was crawling his way across the floor with one hand.  Beads of sweat speckled his brown as he grunted in response to the pain.

"I… won't let you," said Jack, his voice distorted by blood and phlegm obstructing his airway.

"The secondary objective shall be completed upon successful completion of the primary objective," said Andromon.

"I said… I won't let you," said Jack, showing a little more strength.  "I can't let someone like you beat us.  No matter what, we will fight to the very end.  We've come too far to stop now.  We won't let the others down, not when they need our help!  I still have my pride!  I still have my honor!"

"Your honor is irrelevant," said Andromon, turning his attention back to Dracomon.

As Andromon looked back to Dracomon, he realized that something had changed.  He was showing signs of renewed strength.  Not wanting to waste another second, Andromon pulled his right arm back to strike once again.  Before he could throw his punch though, a huge spark shot from his arm as the drill-bit burnt out.  Andromon stared down at his now motionless hand.  Suddenly, all of the lights in the room began to flicker wildly as an electrical surge ran through every piece of equipment in the massive hall.  Sparks were flying everywhere as pieces of equipment began to explode at random.  Andromon looked around with a very confused expression on his face.  Suddenly, a particularly strong spark shot out from just over Dracomon's right shoulder and struck Andromon in the head, pushing him back.  Andromon staggered about for a moment, dazed.  Jack looked on as a glowing white aura surrounded Dracomon's body.  His wounds healed themselves as his muscles began to bulge.  Sparks of electricity began to curl up around him as the aura surrounding him increased in size gradually.

"That's it!" shouted Jack.

"Dracomon…" started Dracomon.  "Digivolve to…!"

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[A/N: Just a reminder, I still need a place to post the pictures of my digimon. If you want to see them for yourself, someone had better suggest a place where I could send them.]


	10. Metaldracomon's Honor

A blinding light surged out from Dracomon, sending up a wind that proved strong enough to knock Andromon flat on his back.  After is rather ungraceful fall, Andromon sat up again, a look of anger on his mouth.  He stood up, fighting against the strong winds that surged up from the glowing sphere of pure-white energy.

"I will not be defeated!" shouted Andromon as his breastplate flew open.

A pair of small missiles immediately shot from Andromon's chest and headed right towards Dracomon's energy field.  As soon as they struck the barrier around Dracomon though, they exploded harmlessly without even penetrating Dracomon's energy barrier.  Dracomon just grinned out at Andromon.  Andromon began to back away nervously as rings of electrical energy began to encircle Dracomon, causing his hair to blow around his face wildly.  He bared his teeth as his pupils all but disappeared in his eyes.  The steel floor at his feet began to quake viciously, throwing the rivets right off the plating.  A powerful wind began to shoot from Dracomon as the muscles all over his body began to tighten.  His claws grew longer and sharper than before, and his tail stiffened behind him.  His shoulders grew more powerful, forcing his upper body to lurch forward as he spread his great wings up over his head.  Suddenly, the light surrounding him intensified a great deal, forcing Andromon and Jack to shield their eyes as best as they could.  As the light slowly began to die down, Andromon removed his arm from in front of his eyes.  He didn't even have time to adjust though before a punch of awesome power slammed into his face, launching him back across the length of the room.  Jack too began to adjust to the light.  He was still lying on his stomach, but as he slowly looked up, he could see his partner digimon in his Ultimate form.

He looked very similar to Dracomon, except he had gained a few inorganic features.  His left leg was entirely mechanical, using hydraulics encased in thick steel armor.  His now cybernetic tail was covered in interlocking metallic plates, which formed a sharp spike at the very end of his powerful appendage.  His chest was plated in the metal and accentuated by a large, round, red gem, affixed to the center of his breast.  Most of his right arm had been replaced by cybernetic attachments, which were also heavily armored.  The claw on that arm was no longer opposable as it had been previously, but had become fixed, like Metalgreymon's left claw.  Set firmly above where his wrist would have been was another jewel, smaller than the other one but still quite impressive.  A pair of broad, silvery shoulder-pads topped off his torso, giving him an even stronger appearance than before.  His great wings had been replaced by large, curved metal sheets, which were locked together with smaller sheets to give him a wingspan of nearly twenty feet.  The smaller sheets could be smoothly and quickly retracted when not in flight, or extended for an emergency take-off.  Nestled between his wings was a sizable jet propulsion pack, much like the one worn by Seraphimon.  The modest, rounded cylinder packed an incredible punch for its small size, being capable of taking the new digimon from 0 to 200 mph in under three seconds.  Finally, his face was draped in a handsome, yet simple metal helmet.  Perfectly fitted to his skull, the helmet ran from his snout to his hairline and even up his fringed ears.  His bushy hair still fell over his mysterious eyes, the right one of which had been replaced by a red, mechanical eye with a crosshairs where the pupil would have been.  The intense white aura still surrounded him, hugging tightly to his skin as bolts of white electrical energy sparked around him, wrapping themselves around his arms, legs, and torso before quickly dissipating.

"…Metaldracomon," said the fierce new digimon.

"Analyzing threat…" said Andromon from a kneeled position on the opposite end of the room.  "Metaldracomon; Ultimate digimon; vaccine type.  Flight capable with nearly impenetrable armor.  Attack catalog includes Tail Strike, Mecha Claw, and Giga Flare.  Approach with extreme caution, as digimon can prove extremely lethal at any point within range of its weaponry."

"Now it's time to test my metal against yours," said Metaldracomon, whose voice was now a mix between the youthful, confident voice of Dracomon, and a computerized, very synthetic-sounding voice.

"That's it!" said Jack, still gripping his injured stomach.  "Show him who's the top bot!"

"Right!" said Metaldracomon, fully unsheathing his wings and powering up his jetpack.

Andromon rose to his feet.

"You will still prove an insufficient combatant," said Andromon coolly.  "I have never lost a battle."

"Well there's a first time for everything!" shouted Metaldracomon as he pushed himself up into the air and his jetpack kicked into full gear.

Metaldracomon flew at Andromon with his arms outstretched.  Andromon didn't even try to get out of the way.  Instead, he just brought his hands up to latch onto Metaldracomon's claws.  Andromon and Metaldracomon successfully clasped their opposing hands together and Andromon instantly exerted all his power to force Metaldracomon back, but the great digimon barely even noticed.  Metaldracomon had barely paused for a millisecond after latching onto Andromon before going ahead at full steam and pushing Andromon along in front of him.  Before Andromon had time to react to this turn of events, Metaldracomon had rammed him full-force into a wall, sending up another wave of electrical sparks and a cloud of dust.  Metaldracomon rebounded immediately and did a back flip, landing soundly a few yards away, facing the cloud of dust around Andromon.  Metaldracomon's cybernetic eye began to glow as the crosshairs searched through the dust cloud.  Metaldracomon sidestepped to the left a moment before a pair of Andromon's missiles burst from the cloud.  The attack missed Metaldracomon thanks to his masterful maneuvering and crashed into on of the pillars, creating an explosion that brought the whole thing down.  Metaldracomon immediately retaliated by bringing his tail up to his side and extending it with impressive speed, sending the dangerous spike at the tip piercing through the air towards the cloud.  Andromon rolled out through the right side of the cloud, narrowly dodging Metaldracomon's Tail Strike, which punctured the steel wall.  Metaldracomon quickly retracted his tail as Andromon took off running along the outer wall, always keeping his sights on Metaldracomon.  Metaldracomon began to run too, quickly coming up along parallel to Andromon, about twenty-five feet away.  They both watched each other intently as they continued to sprint at full speed.  Suddenly, Andromon stopped dead in his tracks.  Metaldracomon was caught off-guard and ended up sliding for several feet before coming to a stop.  Andromon took advantage of the situation by launching another volley of missiles at Metaldracomon, which hit him right on the chest.  Metaldracomon was knocked back into one of the remaining pillars.  His metal plating had been scuffed a bit, but nothing worse than that.  Metaldracomon immediately picked himself up and cracked Andromon across the jaw with his left fist before hitting him in the gut with an uppercut from his right claw.  Andromon stumbled backwards as Metaldracomon prepared his next attack.  He spun around, swinging his tail out wide to slice through Andromon's waist.  Andromon caught Metaldracomon by his tail though, and turned Metaldracomon's own attack against him.  Andromon turned his back to Metaldracomon and lifted the powerful tail up over his right shoulder before pulling as hard as he could.  Andromon flipped Metaldracomon over his shoulder and buried him in the floor, sending up metal chips and sparks of electricity.  Metaldracomon rolled over onto his back, as Andromon stood in front of his head, an air of confidence about him.  Andromon brought his fist back and prepared to strike Metaldracomon, but the dragon had different plans.  He powered up his jetpack and shot from the ground, crashing through Andromon's legs.  Andromon fell forward, landing flat on his face as Metaldracomon managed to right himself through a carefully orchestrated flip.  Landing securely on the ground, Metaldracomon just stood there, waiting for Andromon to get up.  A few seconds later, Andromon had managed to push himself up to his feet and had turned to face Metaldracomon.  Once again, Metaldracomon brought his tail up to his side, ready to strike.  Just as Metaldracomon was about to lash out, Andromon leaped up into the air, somersaulting over Metaldracomon's head and landing behind him.  Needless to say, Andromon was surprised to see Metaldracomon already facing him and ready to strike, his right claw aimed straight for the mechanical monster.  Andromon's eyes widened as Metaldracomon's forearm shot from his body, still attached by a thick, iron chain.  Metaldracomon's Mecha Claw caught Andromon completely off-guard, blowing through his already dented chest-plate and emerging partially through the backside.  With his arm firmly wedged in Andromon's body, Metaldracomon immediately retracted the chain, yanking Andromon towards him with great force.  Andromon was pulled mere inches away from Metaldracomon's face.  Metaldracomon's eyes burned into Andromon's as Andromon began to show fear.

"It is over!" shouted Metaldracomon.

Metaldracomon held Andromon out a few feet and clenched his left claw into a fist.  The muscles in his arm bulged with strength as he yelled at the top his lungs.  Andromon cried out as Metaldracomon released the most vicious punch of the whole fight.  Metaldracomon forced all his power into a single, mountain-shaking punch.  The force was so much that Metaldracomon shredded Andromon's head, tearing off what was left intact as an electrical surge ran through Andromon's body.  Wires, cables, shards of metal, and bits of flesh were thrown into the air.  The sudden electrical surge in Andromon's body caused a critical system failure, resulting in an immediate and massive explosion that completely wiped out what remained of his body.

"Metaldracomon!" shouted Jack from his crouched position.

The explosion had completely engulfed his friend.  The shock wave soon hit Jack himself, knocking him back against a wall.  He cried out in pain as a heavy piece of equipment jabbed him in his already bruised ribs, but he would be fine.  The status of Metaldracomon was less certain though.

Once the explosion was over and things were beginning to calm down, Jack managed to stand up, albeit shakily.  The room was almost completely darkened, as most of the computers had been destroyed during the battle.  Slowly, Jack made his way over to the cloud of debris that still lingered in the air, holding his chest with his right arm.  As he approached, he accidentally stepped on something.  When he looked down, he saw that it was part of Andromon's headgear.  Jack kicked the twisted metal to the side as it disintegrated.  Jack began to search through the rubble as smoke continued to pour off the ground.

"Hang on buddy," said Jack.  "I'm going to find you."

Several minutes passed without any luck, as Jack's search grew more feverish.  Could it be that his friend was actually gone?  No.  Jack would not accept that possibility, not for a second.  He knew that if he only kept on looking, he would find Metaldracomon.  Still, things were not looking good.  Finally, Jack came across Metaldracomon.  Upon lifting up a large sheet of steel, Jack recognized the helmeted face of his friend.

"Metaldracomon!" called Jack.  "Are you all right?!"

"Couldn't be better," mumbled Metaldracomon weakly without opening his eyes.  "How are you?"

"Do you need some help?" asked Jack.

"Nah, I think it'll do me good to get the three tons of metal off me all by myself," said Metaldracomon sarcastically.

"You've made your point," said Jack.  "Now hang on, I'm gonna' free your arms next."

After several more minutes of heavy lifting, Jack had managed to pull most of the debris off Metaldracomon's upper body, but his legs were still pinned beneath heavy equipment that had collapsed during the explosion.  Jack was cleaning some of Andromon's circuitry from Metaldracomon's right claw when he found what appeared to be the hilt of a broken Japanese sword.  It was made of a hard, dark brown wood and it was bound with thick leather.  The blade had apparently been snapped off a few inches above the point where it connected to the hilt.

"What's this?" asked Jack.

"I can't see," said Metaldracomon.  "Bring it over here."

Jack quickly walked over to Metaldracomon's head and set the hilt down for him to examine.

"Hmm…" mused Metaldracomon, examining the shattered weapon.  "Where did this come from?"

"I think it came from inside Andromon," said Jack.

"Very strange," said Metaldracomon, rolling it in his hands while eyeing it carefully.  "This weapon seems… familiar, somehow."

"In what way?" asked Jack.

"I don't know…" said Metaldracomon.

"Let me see it again," said Jack, holding out his hand.

"Here," said Metaldracomon, placing the hilt firmly in Jack's palm.

No sooner had Jack taken the weapon than it began to glow with an intense, golden light.  Both Jack and Metaldracomon pulled their heads back for a second, but they then drew in close as the hilt began to rapidly shrink and change shape.  They both watched carefully as the light began to fade out, and they both realized that the hilt had transformed into a tag with a crest in it.  Jack examined his crest carefully.  It was sort of silver-colored and it looked like a circle with three equilateral triangles around it, one pointing down, one pointing to the upper-left, and one pointing to the upper-right.

"Metaldracomon…" said Jack.  "Do you recognize this crest?  What does it mean?"

"I do indeed recognize it," said Metaldracomon, very seriously.  "That crest there is one of the strongest of all the crests: the Crest of Honor."

"Whoa, really?!" asked Jack.

"Put it on," said Metaldracomon.

Jack slipped the crest over his head and let it fall onto his chest, where it rested next to his dog tags.

"The Crest of Honor," said Jack, admiring his new tool.  "This thing's sure to come in handy."

"Enough," said Metaldracomon, forcing the rest of the debris off himself as he stood up.  "We've got a job to finish."

"Right!" said Jack, his eyes once again showing a cold, hard determination.  "Let's get outta' here!"

"Climb aboard," said Metaldracomon, extending his tail to Jack like a staircase.

Jack walked up Metaldracomon's tail and climbed up onto his back.

"All set back there?" asked Metaldracomon.  "Need any peanuts or headphones?"

"Just go," said Jack, smiling a little.

"Sure," said Metaldracomon, smiling back.

Metaldracomon took to the air, heading straight for the ceiling.  With incredible strength, he plowed through the steel roofing like paper and kept on going.  He burrowed through numerous layers of soil without losing any real speed.  A few seconds later, he burst through the topsoil and he and Jack were once again out in the open.

"To Infinity Mountain!" shouted Jack, pointing to the black wall of smoke and ash that rose up in the distance.

Meanwhile, back around the base of what remained of Infinity Mountain, the nearly exhausted digimon and their DigiDestined partners were celebrating their victory.

"Your plan worked Izzy!" shouted Tai, giving the smaller boy a huge hug.

"Not so tight!" complained Izzy.

"You really came through for us!" said Matt, ruffling Izzy's hair.

"You were great, Garudamon!" said Sora, wrapping her arms around her friend's neck to give her as much of a hug as she could.

"We did it Lillymon!" said Mimi.

"We sure did," replied Lillymon.

Wargreymon, Metalgarurumon, Mega Kabuterimon, and Zudomon were nearly passed out, and Garudamon and Lillymon were looking pretty pooped too.

"Tai?" asked Wargreymon from a reclined position.  "Can we go home for a hot bath and a nice, comfy bed?"

"I think I'd prefer to have the bed first," chimed in Metalgarurumon.

"Whatever you want guys," said Tai, laughing out loud.  "You've earned it today."

Suddenly, the ground began to shake, causing most of the DigiDestined to fall over.  Their eyes darted all over the place, searching for the cause of the sudden tremor.

"Look!" shouted Joe, pointing up to the burning face of Infinity Mountain.

Amid the flames, smoke, and ash, there rose a figure.  It was some sort of large, not-quite spherical geometric shape.  It was hard to tell the coloration of it because of all the glowing red fire behind it.  One thing was certain though: it was massive.  One-by-one, each side of the strange object began to expel towers, attached to which were giant, mechanical claws.  From the very top tower, there sprang a figure.  His eyes glowed red from underneath his black helmet.

"Apocalymon…" said Wargreymon.


	11. Apocalymon Now

[Sorry it took me so long to update, but I had finals this week, so I pretty much haven't been able to do anything. By the way, Flarex9, I'd be happy to have you presenting my pictures. Just send the URL and I'll start sending you some pics. Now then, ON WITH THE SHOW!]  
  
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"How the hell did he survive that?!" shouted Tai, staring up at the ghastly image that stained the sky.  "Not even the mountain survived that attack!"

The entire group stared up at the fearful image that floated in the sky, their jaws hanging open and eyes wide in alarm.

"I guess Gennai wasn't kidding when he said this guy was the strongest digimon," said Izzy.

"We're in REAL serious trouble guys!" shouted Matt, bringing his attention away from Apocalymon for the moment.

"I think that's a given," said Joe, still fixated on Apocalymon.

"Our digimon are all out of energy!" shouted Matt as he eyed Metalgarurumon, who was lying down and breathing heavily on the ground behind him.

"That's right!" exclaimed Mimi, looking to Lillymon, who was hunched over against a tree, sweating and breathing heavily.

"Things would be bad enough normally," said Izzy.  "But with our digimon completely drained like this we won't stand a chance."

"Don't be so sure about that," said Tai, as a smirk crossed his face.

"What are you talking about?" asked Sora.

"Look closer…" said Tai.

Everyone began to carefully scrutinize Apocalymon.  It quickly became obvious even from that distance that Apocalymon appeared to be slightly injured.  He was breathing heavily and had a few scrapes on his body.

"All the damage we've done is still there," said Tai.

"Prodigious!" exclaimed Izzy.  "The damage we've already inflicted on remains, no matter what form he takes!"

"I don't see any reason to celebrate," said Garudamon.  "If that's all the damage we've been able to do to him then we're still in really bad shape."

"She's right," said Zudomon.  "We could keep hitting him all day and it wouldn't make a difference."

"We've got to try," said Mimi.

"Maybe if we called the others for backup," said Joe.  "We could really use their help right about now."

"I doubt that would be wise," said Izzy.  "If what Gennai told us is true, then this guy could just transport himself to our world when the others got here.  We'd lose track of him really fast if he changed shape and decided to blend in with the crowd."

"How about this," said Sora.  "We ask for backup, but have one of them stay there to watch out for that digimon just in case he decides to leave.  Then, whoever stays behind could track him for us until we're all able to make it to the real world to finish the job!"

"Seems like a sound plan to me," said Izzy.

"Then someone get cracking on an email!" said Tai.  "We don't have very much time!"

Izzy snapped to attention, pulling his palmtop out of his back pocket.  He switched it on and waited for a few minutes for it to get all set up as the others just sat back and watched impatiently.  After a little while it became clear that nothing was happening.

"Does it need batteries?" asked Mimi.

"I doubt it," said Izzy, fiddling with his tiny computer some more.  "I just put in new ones the other day."

"So what's the deal?" asked Joe.

"Just whack it a couple times," said Tai.  "That'll get its attention."

"Do I even need to say anything at this point?" asked Izzy, an oversized sweat-drop forming on the side of his face.

"So what could be wrong with it?" asked Sora as she and everyone else gathered close behind Izzy to watch him go to work.

"It's a piece of junk," said Matt.  "I told you it was a waste of money."

"Well it has worked fine up 'til now," said Izzy, who was starting to get a bit peeved.

"Try turning it off and on real fast," suggested Sora.

"That won't work," said Joe.  "You need turn it off and let it sit for five minutes or so."

"What about-" started Tai.

"Enough!" shouted Izzy, flipping off the power switch.  "It's not going to work.  Does anyone else have something that can do email?"

As Izzy was about to put his palmtop back into his pocket, it started to vibrate.  He looked down at it, as did everyone else.  Their faces all got in real close to it.  They could even see the thing starting to get hotter.  Suddenly, a really big spark just shot out of the thing, causing everyone's head to jerk back and leading Izzy to drop his prized piece o' techno-junk.

"Gaa!" yelped Izzy as he bent down to examine his now fried palmtop.

"Fools…" said a massive voice that boomed like thunder from the sky.

Everyone immediately turned their attention back to Apocalymon.  He hadn't moved, but it was clearly him doing the talking.

"Did you honestly think that TOY would work in my presence?" asked Apocalymon.

"Well, I was kinda' hoping-" started Izzy, rather meekly.

"Silence!" shouted Apocalymon.  "To think that such pitiful creatures would have the insolence to speak in MY presence…"

"We're not going to back off!" shouted Tai.

"Then you will die," said Apocalymon.  "Of course, I wouldn't have let you live long enough to see my true form anyway.  I would never allow such creatures to lay their eyes on my being."

"Keep him talking…" whispered Sora.  "We need to buy our digimon as much time as we can."

"We've beaten Apocalymon before," said Matt, feigning confidence.  "We can do it again."

"Don't waste my time," said Apocalymon.  "I see through your pathetic facade.  Your false confidence does not impress me."

"I guess it was arrogant of me to think I could fool the strongest digimon alive," said Matt.

"Flattery will get you nowhere," said Apocalymon.  "I intend to destroy you, so stop wasting my time with this idle chatter."

"You know we always come out on top," said Joe.  "Why not just give up now and save us all the time it would take to beat you?"

"I am not amused," said Apocalymon, narrowing his eyes.  "You have exhausted my patience.  Now you will die."

Without warning, six of Apocalymon's huge claws shot out in the direction of the DigiDestined.  The digimon all took to the air to try to stop Apocalymon's assault, but they just weren't quick enough.  Apocalymon's claws clamped down hard around the six digimon and rendering them all completely immobile.  The claws could easily close around and encase Wargreymon, Metalgarurumon, and Lillymon, but Zudomon, Mega Kabuterimon, and Garudamon were too big, so the claws just had to clamp down on them as best they could.

"Wargreymon!" yelled Tai.

"Reverse Digivolve!" shouted Apocalymon.

The DigiDestined could only watch helplessly as their digimon all began to radiate a yellowish light and start to shrink.  Apocalymon's maniacal laughter grew more and more menacing as one-by-one he removed his claws from around their digimon, whom had returned to their In-Training forms.  The now flightless and severely weakened digimon fell from the sky, hitting the rocky ground hard.

"Koromon!" shouted Tai as he ran over to where his tiny companion lay.

"It'll be okay," said Matt, coddling the unconscious Tsunomon in his arms.

Joe did his best to assess the state of the tiny digimon, but it was hard to say if they would be all right or not.

"You monster!" said Mimi, looking up at Apocalymon with tears in her eyes.  "How could you?!"

"It was easy…" said Apocalymon with a cruel smile.  "Now do you recognize my superiority?"

"Superiority?!" shouted Izzy in an indignant tone.  "All we've seen so far is your talent for stealing the strengths of other digimon.  You haven't even had the nerve to show us who you really are!"

"Do NOT take that tone with me… human," said the insulted Apocalymon.  "You have no right to talk to me as an equal!  I have seen the birth of this entire world!  I have witnessed the passing of countless generations of fighting machines!  I was already over a hundred millennia old when your ancestors were first straggling onto the shores of Japan like half-drowned dogs with their tails between their legs!  And I will still live on when your race is but a distant memory of a dying planet!"

"Do you think you can scare us?!" shouted Sora.  "I'm gonna' tell you right now that you don't!  We've had to face enemies just as bad as you and we never gave up hope!  We're not about to start now!"

"Let me tell you something… dear," said Apocalymon.  "You have never faced a force anything like what I am.  I am supreme in this world!  Those that you have fought before were mere puppets in the great scheme that is only now beginning to approach fruition."

"What scheme?" asked Tai.  "What are you talking about?"

"I don't have to answer to you boy," said Apocalymon.  "All you need to know is that it is a plan of such a grand design that it has been in motion since long before you first came to the Digital World.  Now enough of this!"

Again, Apocalymon sent six of his powerful claws for the DigiDestined.  They tried to run, but he snatched them and their digimon up and drew them towards him.  They could do nothing but sit there and wait for Apocalymon's next move, as he had them completely at his mercy.  Luckily for the DigiDestined, Apocalymon didn't feel like crushing them… yet.  Instead, he just watched them struggle to free themselves from his vice-like grip.

"Fight all you want, humans…" said Apocalymon with a disdainful sneer.  "My power is infinite.  Your digimon would be lucky to ever regain consciousness.  I have you right where I want you, and your world will soon be set aflame beneath my heel."

"That's it!" shouted Matt, clearly pained to say so.  "It's over!  He's beaten us!"

"Don't say that Matt!" shouted Sora from the next claw over.  "We can't give up!  That's the only way that he can win!"

"He could also win by slicing us into little tiny pieces!" yelled Matt.

"I'd hate to sound like a pessimist, but Matt's right," said Joe.

"You too Joe?" asked Sora.  "I won't have it!  Don't you guys remember right before the final fight with Piedmon?  You wouldn't let me give up then, and I'm not gonna' let you give up now!"

"Yeah guys," said Izzy.  "We haven't come this far to give up now!"

"Don't you get it?" asked Joe.  "All this time we've been putting our lives in danger with every fight.  It was inevitable that our luck would run out and reality would catch up with us."

Tai didn't say anything.  He just stared up at Apocalymon with a very cold glare, not moving a muscle.

"Delicious…" said Apocalymon.  "Even the unity that you 'DigiDestined' pride yourselves on so much can be crushed by the slightest flexing of my power.  I have seen enough.  Goodbye…"

Apocalymon's eyes shone a fiery red as his lips curled up in a truly cruel smile.  The DigiDestined began to feel his powerful claws tightening around them.  They were on the very brink of very unpleasant deaths when providence appeared on wings of steel.  Without warning, a heavy, metallic claw burst through Apocalymon's stomach from behind him.  He gasped in pain as Metaldracomon's Mecha Claw wedged itself into his torso, still attached by a very long, iron chain to Metaldracomon's wrist.  The sunlight glinted off his armored body as he came in very fast.  Apocalymon was so stunned by the pain that he began to loosen his grip on the DigiDestined and their digimon.

"I hope we're not too late!" shouted Jack from atop Metaldracomon's back.

"It's about time!" replied Mimi, overjoyed by the sight of Jack.

"Ah, you know how I like to make an entrance," said Jack, flashing that quirky smile of his.  "Alright Metaldracomon, do your thing!"

Metaldracomon gave a quick tug on the chain that shot from his wrist, making it taut.  He then used it like a slingshot to pull himself all the way around the great beast.  Once he reached a convenient spot, he pulled his claw back out from Apocalymon, causing him to cry out in pain.  Metaldracomon then made a masterful landing on the chain of one of Apocalymon's arms to which was attached the claw holding Sora and Yokomon.  Metaldracomon immediately took careful aim with his Mecha Claw for the next chain over, where Matt and Tsunomon were while Jack leaped from his back and ran over to pull Sora and Yokomon from Apocalymon's grip.  Metaldracomon let loose with his claw, which made a clean slice right through Apocalymon's appendage, causing the clawed portion to began plummeting towards the ground far below.

"Move it Jack!" shouted Metaldracomon.

"Go!" shouted Jack as he and Sora, who was holding Yokomon, made a dive for Metaldracomon.

They managed to grab a hold of his wings just as he used his tail like a blade to slice through the arm that he was standing on.  Metaldracomon flew for the falling Matt and Tsunomon as the chain fell away beneath him.  An incredible burst of speed allowed him to grab onto Matt and Tsunomon and pull them safely from the crippled limb.  Metaldracomon headed up again and towards the next claw, where Joe and Bukamon were still imprisoned.  Apocalymon had begun to recover, and he made a clumsy swing at Metaldracomon with one of his free limbs, but Metaldracomon dodged it easily.  As soon as he reached the claw itself, Metaldracomon tore it open with his right claw and yanked Joe and Bukamon out.  Now heavily laden with passengers, Metaldracomon headed down on a heading for solid ground.  Metaldracomon made a dangerously fast landing, rolling along the ground to prevent injury.  Once he came to a stop, he released the extra passengers he'd picked up and headed right back into the fray.  This time though, Apocalymon was much more alert and began to transform two of his free claws to look like a pair of Machinedramon, using them to fire Giga Cannon rounds at the dangerously outgunned Metaldracomon.  Still, Metaldracomon was extremely maneuverable, dodging side-to-side and even doing barrel rolls to avoid Apocalymon's fearsome barrage.  Luck was with him, as he successfully evaded every attack fired in his direction.  As they passed over the claw that held Izzy, Jack leaped out and landed somewhat precariously on the edge of the claw.  After acquiring a solid footing, Jack helped to pull Izzy and Motimon free.  Metaldracomon had moved onto the next appendage, where he dug his left hand into the claw and tore it away, dropping the piece of twisted metal and freeing Mimi and Palmon, who eagerly climbed up onto Metaldracomon's back.  Apocalymon was becoming desperate.  He launched a full barrage of Giga Cannon blasts towards the claw where Metaldracomon was perched.  The attacks hit just as Metaldracomon took off, heading back to where Jack and Izzy were.  The shock wave from the explosion sent up by the Giga Cannon blasts nearly caused Metaldracomon to lose control, but he recovered and snatched up Izzy and Jack in his arms as more shots from the Giga Cannons whizzed past their heads.  Apocalymon was firing more viciously than ever as Metaldracomon continued to dodge his assault, weaving in and out.  Metaldracomon finally reached the last claw and Tai.  Metaldracomon dug his right claw into the metal when he looked up and saw a blast from a Giga Cannon heading right for him.  The attack struck him on the chin sending him reeling back and shouting out in pain.  As he flew back, his claw ripped open the casing of the claw that held Tai and Koromon.  With the claw ripped open, Tai began to fall headfirst towards the ground with Koromon hugged to his chest.  Metaldracomon saw what had happened and instinctively turned to face Tai.  Tai meanwhile was getting closer and closer to the ground.  100 feet… 90 feet… 75 feet… 55 feet… 30 feet.  Tai shut his eyes tight and prayed for a miracle.  It would seem that his prayers were answered about ten feet above the ground as Metaldracomon's tail whipped around his arm and dragged him along for a wild ride.  More Giga Cannon attacks trailed closer and closer behind Metaldracomon and his passengers held on for dear life as Apocalymon's frustration peaked.  In a final act of anger, Apocalymon threw all his remaining claws for Metaldracomon.  By some miracle, he came through unscathed, while all of Apocalymon's arms were wedged firmly in the ground.  Metaldracomon reached the site where he had dropped the others off and slammed his feet into the ground, sliding along for a few yards while digging up a lot of soil and tossing it into the air.  All of Metaldracomon's passengers except for Jack quickly dropped off and fell to the ground, quite thankful to be alive after all that.  With everyone else safe and sound, Metaldracomon turned to go after Apocalymon himself.

"Glad you could make it," said Tai the suddenly warmhearted Tai.

"You guys just stay safe," said the steely-eyed Metaldracomon.

"What are you gonna' do?" asked Mimi.

"Kill Apocalymon," said Metaldracomon.

"I'm not used to hanging back and watching the action, but…" said Matt.  "…Good luck…"

"Thanks," said Jack and Metaldracomon.

Metaldracomon's jetpack fired up and he headed off to face Apocalymon all by himself.


	12. The End of Apocalymon

"They just seem to be lining up for the slaughter," mused Apocalymon, a little smirk on his face.

Metaldracomon tore through the air on a direct course for Apocalymon.  He wore a look of absolute determination, seeming to the entire world that he was completely impenetrable, if just for a moment.  That image was shattered as Apocalymon took a heavy swing at Metaldracomon with one of his claws, cracking the now stunned digimon across the greater part of his right side.  The blow hit hard and nearly knocked Jack off his partner digimon's back and Metaldracomon nearly lost consciousness for a moment and fell off towards the side.  He quickly came to his senses though and powered up his jet just in time to avoid another punishing assault from Apocalymon.  Apocalymon still had a few nasty tricks up his sleeve though, as was quickly demonstrated when he opened up one of his remaining claws to reveal easily over a dozen Devimon-like hands, which quickly extended away from the claw and headed right for Metaldracomon.

"Metaldracomon!" shouted Jack.  "We got hands at five o'clock!"

"I'm on it!" replied Metaldracomon as he flipped onto his back in mid-air so he could get a good shot at the incoming hands while still getting closer to Apocalymon's head.

The hands came at them rapidly, but Metaldracomon had a counterattack all set up.  He gripped his right arm with his left claw and took careful aim before launching his Mecha Claw into the swarm of approaching arms.  With a nice, clean slice he took out about five of the hands and quickly retracted his claw and took aim again as the hands got much closer.  Metaldracomon was only able to get off one more shot, taking out three of the hands, before they were upon him.  One grabbed onto his left leg, but he immediately chopped himself free using his tail.  Another latched onto his chest, but he quickly bit into it, sawing through the flesh and bone like a tin can.  Two more latched onto his arms, and a third grabbed him by the ear.  He pulled his right arm across his chest very quickly, splitting the one holding that arm, and raked his steel claw through the one holding his left arm.  He then used his left claw to crush the hand gripping his ear before throwing it to the wind.  A few more hands came up for him very quickly, but he used his tail and claws to make them look like cucumbers that had been through a Salad Shooter.  The very last hand though caught Metaldracomon off guard, going past his head and seizing Jack by the left arm and yanking him from Metaldracomon's back.  Metaldracomon responded instantly, grabbing Jack's right wrist and pulling himself closer to the hand, slicing through it with his steel claw and freeing Jack.  Metaldracomon spun back around so he could face his opponent as his engine kicked in with one final burst of speed.  Jack pulled himself back up onto Metaldracomon's back as he gingerly pulled off the hand that was still attached to his left arm, making a disgusted face and wiping some of the pitch-black blood off onto his pants.

Metaldracomon had reached his target and was ready for battle.  Apocalymon glared cruelly at him with his arms folded over his chest and an enraged look in his eyes.  His lips were curled back to reveal an angry sneer.

"It's over NOW!" shouted Metaldracomon, charging at Apocalymon at full speed with his metallic claw outstretched.

Apocalymon lifted his right arm in front of him, flexing the muscles and making a fist.  Metaldracomon struck his arm and rebounded off in another direction.  Upon turning around, he realized that he had in fact inflicted no damage whatsoever.

'The only thing that is over is your pathetic existence!" shouted Apocalymon.

Without saying a word, Metaldracomon charged again, taking a few more swings at Apocalymon.  It soon became clear though that Apocalymon was the superior fighter, as he easily deflected Metaldracomon's assault by using his arms like shields.  As soon as he saw an opening, Apocalymon went on the offensive, cracking Metaldracomon across the jaw with a devastating punch.  Metaldracomon was knocked back a few yards before he managed to bring himself to a stop.  He lowered his eyes back down again to meet Apocalymon's as he snapped his jaw back into place.  He had sustained a sizeable chip to the muzzle portion of his mask, and blood was oozing from a spot where one of his razor-sharp teeth had been moments before.  Now very infuriated, Metaldracomon charged again.  He started out by throwing a left hook, which Apocalymon tried to deflect with his right arm.  As he did so, Metaldracomon grabbed Apocalymon's wrist and used it to pull himself closer, where he lashed at the monster with his Tail Strike.  Before he was able to use it to cleave through Apocalymon's body though, Apocalymon quickly reached down with his left hand and grabbed Metaldracomon by the tail.  A quick flip of Apocalymon's wrist forced Metaldracomon to release Apocalymon, leaving him dangling upside-down by his tail.  He didn't have to stay there long though, since Apocalymon used his now free right hand to belt Metaldracomon in the chest-plate incredibly hard.  Metaldracomon was tossed back as he gripped his chest in agony.  Very shakily, he turned himself upright again as he spat up some blood mixed in with mucous.  When he reopened his eyes, they were clearly full of rage.

"You clearly are incapable of winning," said Apocalymon.  "And yet you persist.  I must say, I find that rather fascinating."

"What are we gonna' do?" whispered Jack.  "We don't stand a chance."

"He's not going to win…" said Metaldracomon, his voice growing very deep and solemn.  "I won't let him."

"You are a fool," said Apocalymon, slapping his hand against his rock-hard chest.  "You just don't seem to comprehend the fact that I am indestructible."

"Let's test that theory…" said Metaldracomon as he began to rapidly back away from his opponent, never taking his eyes off him.

Apocalymon cracked a devilish smile as Metaldracomon came to an abrupt stop, roughly two hundred feet in front of and slightly above Apocalymon.  Metaldracomon suddenly spread his wings to maximum extension and flexed his arms at his sides.  His tail swayed about like a strand of hair caught in a gentle breeze, and the muscles and hydraulics in his legs began to tighten beneath him.  His eyes began to pulse with white light.

"Don't move a muscle," smirked Metaldracomon.  "That is of course, unless you are afraid of the likes of me."

Apocalymon tensed up his body without showing the slightest fear.  It was truly unnerving the way he was so completely confident; at least it was for Jack.  Metaldracomon apparently couldn't be more pleased with the turn of events.

"Try me…" said Apocalymon.

"Perfect…" murmured Metaldracomon.

Jack was looking much less confident than Metaldracomon, but he still trusted in his partner to the end.  As Jack began to sweat bullets, a strange sphere of light began to encircle Metaldracomon, causing his electronic components to begin to shoot off sparks as the large red gem in the center of his breastplate slowly began to pulse with red-orange light.  As the pulses of light began to gradually increase in frequency, a low humming sound could be heard that seemed to increase in frequency along with the pulsating light.  Metaldracomon's locks of white hair were whipped about as a strong wind began to pick up around the digimon.  

"What?" asked Apocalymon, as his expression grew curious.

Suddenly, Jack felt a burning sensation in his chest.  He cried out as a silvery beam of light exploded from the Crest of Honor on his chest and began to swirl around Metaldracomon before being pulled into the now rapidly pulsing gem on his chest.

"Do it now!" shouted Jack.

"Giga Flare!" screamed Metaldracomon as he lifted his right claw up to Apocalymon, stabilizing it by gripping the arm firmly with his left claw.

A radiant field of red energy rapidly swelled around the glowing gem on his right arm as all the energy contained within the stone on his chest poured directly into his arm.  Metaldracomon braced himself as his arm reached critical.  Once it was obvious that he could contain no more energy, it was all released in a luminous stream of glowing, orange light with bolts of lightning encircling it as it burned through the atmosphere towards Apocalymon, who had clearly lost his confidence.  Apocalymon lifted his huge claws to block the attack, but Metaldracomon's Giga Flare incinerated them on contact and kept on heading for Apocalymon's main body, completely undeterred.  Apocalymon shut his eyes tight as the inevitable approached.  An instant later, the bolt of energy from Metaldracomon's arm burrowed into the huge shape that was Apocalymon's main body, just to the right of his humanoid torso.  Despite the powerful and very solid structure of his body, the attack pierced through him with ease, shredding its way through him and bursting out the other side before continuing to burn it's way through the ground as the path through Apocalymon's body continued to expand from the heat.  Apocalymon's metal frame around the gaping hole began to glow red-hot, expanding so rapidly that it exploded in a chain reaction that all but destroyed the terrible beast.  Metaldracomon was thrown over a mile by the huge explosion that knocked over almost every tree in sight.  The force of the blast threw everything from the dirt to boulders hurtling through the air.  The other DigiDestined and their digimon were all launched back, trying desperately to avoid being killed by flying rocks.  The stresses they experienced were so great that most of them blacked out.

It was impossible to say how long they'd been out for, but it couldn't have been more than a few minutes.  When Jack reopened his eyes, he found that Metaldracomon had reverted to his In-Training form: Feramon, the cute little purple digimon that looked like a Demiveemon with the head of a Koromon.  He was standing a few feet away, observing the strangely calm scene.  Jack clawed his way back up to his feet to observe the devastation.  A layer of black ash hung low overhead and the nearby mountain had had a large piece of it sliced out.  The rocky ground had been tilled by the blast.  Most of the surrounding trees were bent over backwards.  Infrequent fires could be seen, burning around the battlefield.  And there, at the center of it all, could be seen the charred and broken remains of Apocalymon's shell and arms.  Slowly, the DigiDestined and their digimon all made their way towards what remained of Apocalymon.  Some of them had been scraped up a bit, but nothing too serious.

"Did we win?" asked Jack, slowly walking through the blackened, hollow hulk of Apocalymon's main body.

"Hard to say," replied Tai.

"Shouldn't it have disintegrated by now?" asked Izzy.

"You'd think so…" said Joe.  "Could… could he still be alive?"

"No, he's dead," squeaked Feramon.  "Trust me, no one could've made it through that."

"Yeah, you're probably right," said Joe.

There was silence for a few moments.

"Those were some really nice moves back there," said Jack, smiling down at his small friend who walked along beside him.

"Ah, it was nuthin'," said Feramon.

"I see you found your crest," said Matt, looking the small object that hung from Jack's neck.  "Have any trouble getting it?"

"You could say that," said Jack as he grinned.

"Well I'm glad you made it in time," said Mimi, giving Jack a warm hug.

"Ooh, not so tight," said Jack, grimacing as a twinge of pain ran through his chest from earlier injuries.

"Sorry," said Mimi, letting go with an expression of concern.

"You really got us out of a bad situation," said Sora.

"So what do we do now?" asked Koromon.

"I say we go back home," said Tai.  "Our job is done and I could use a nice long nap and maybe a shower."

"You said it," said Matt, brushing some dirt and rocks from his hair.

And so, they all began to stagger back to the nearest digiport.  They hadn't even made it outside of Apocalymon's shell though before something happened.  A strange, shimmering mist had begun to float in all around them.  Tsunomon saw something out of the corner of his eye, but it was gone when he turned to look.

"There's something here…" said Tsunomon, causing all the DigiDestined to stop in their tracks.

"But where?" asked Matt, his eyes darting all around.

"There!" said Sora, pointing to a twisted pile of metal beneath a large section of Apocalymon's shell.

The others all turned to look, but whatever it was had vanished again.

"Is it STILL alive?" asked Tanemon.

"Impossible!" insisted Feramon.  "No digimon could have withstood that attack."

"No NORMAL digimon," said Izzy.  "Keep in mind that what we're dealing with here is completely unlike any other digimon we've ever gone up against."

"But there's just no way…" said Jack.

"Wrong again, child," said a frightening voice from behind them.

They all turned to look to where a large, twisted shard of Apocalymon's shell stood, towering over them nearly forty feet away.  Piles of blackened metal were strewn about it.

"Where is he?" asked Mimi.

"I'm right here…" said the unsettling voice.

The white fog that had surrounded them began to pull together on top of one of the piles of metal.  Slowly, as the fog grew denser, it began to take on a slightly more definite shape.  While the creature's body was still made up of the strange, flowing mist, which occasionally sparked with some form of electrical current, it had taken on a shape, more or less.  It was no bigger than Veemon, with a pair of arms, which were spindly at the top and grew thicker towards its hands, and a bulky tail about a foot and a half in length that swayed back and forth.  A pair of pale-blue eyes, also made of the strange fog, opened in the middle of the creature's disproportionately large head.

"How could he have survived?" asked Feramon out loud.

"Strange," said Jack.  "I would have expected his true form to be…bigger."

"Silence, brat!" commanded the entity.  "You filthy humans have crossed the line!  You dared to injure that which can never be injured!  Mark my words, you will—"

"I bet I could take him," said Matt, cutting off the small creature in mid-sentence.

"You have earned yourselves a temporary respite," said the clearly annoyed digimon.  "Do not make me change my mind."

"We'll take you down any time, any place," said Tai.

"Have it your way," said the creature.  "I must leave now to settle other matters, but when I return, I would be happy to remove you from existence."

"You're running scared!" said Sora.  "You're just heading off to lick your wounds and recharge yourself before coming back for round two!"

"Not quite," said the creature with a strange little smile.  "You see, I have to go destroy your world right now.  Once I have torched your cities and crushed the lives of the people I find there I will return happily, ready to finish our match."

"He-he's bluffing," said Feramon.

"Sorry, but I'm not," said the entity.  "Now don't go anywhere.  Oh, I almost forgot, you can't!  You see, as long as I am alive and well, you will be stuck here!  I have sealed the digiports, so there's no way that you can continue to disrupt my work."

"You monster!" said Joe.

"It's better than being human," said the creature as it began to glow intensely.  "Bon voyage…"

With a burst of light, the creature was gone, leaving behind only the sound of its cruel laughter.  This fight had only begun.


	13. Round Two

"I'm not telling you to put your shirt back on again Davis!" said the eternally high-maintenance Yolei.  
  
"Then I guess I won't have to hear it again," said the grinning Davis.  
  
"You're impossible!" screeched Yolei before turning to go back into the apartment.  
  
Davis was kicking back in a lounge chair on the Kamiyas' balcony, getting a tan. He was wearing a pair of sleek sunglasses and, as Yolei had mentioned, no shirt; it had been slung over the back of the lounge chair. Veemon was sparring with Terriermon a few feet away. Stretched all around them was the great city of Tokyo, under the scorching heat of high noon in early summer. The small apartment was particularly crowded that day, making the gentle breeze from the air-conditioner very welcome. The lights were all turned off, so the living room was a little dark, but no one really minded. Willis was sitting in an overstuffed chair with Lopmon perched on his head. Across the table, Michael and Ken sat on the sofa, accompanied by Wormmon and Betamon. Willis fanned out the set of five cards in his hand, scrutinizing them. The other players also checked out their cards. Michael had his legs up on the table, right next to his stack of chips.  
  
"I'll take two," said Willis, throwing a three and a seven in the heap of discarded playing cards.  
  
Ken quickly slid him two more cards across the table.  
  
"And one for me," said Ken, removing one of the cards from his hand and setting it down before taking a new one. "Bets?"  
  
"I'm down for a thousand yen," said Michael as he tossed in a blue chip.  
  
"I'll see your thousand..." said Willis, pushing his remaining chips into the middle of the table. "And I'll raise you five-hundred."  
  
"Fifteen-hundred to me," said Ken, tossing in the chips just after Willis.  
  
"Alright," said Michael, tossing in the extra amount.  
  
A smirk crossed Willis' face. He peered down at his hand, which had turned out perfectly. He now had a full house, two queens and three eights.  
  
"Show `em," said Willis.  
  
Michael laid his hand out on the table. He had three jacks, a two, and a five.  
  
"Nice..." said Willis. "But not nice enough!"  
  
Willis fanned his cards out for all to see, grinning like a lunatic.  
  
"I win!" said Willis, starting to gather up his chips with his cards still proudly displayed in his right hand.  
  
"Not so fast..." said Ken, laying out his four aces with a little smile.  
  
Willis stopped cold. He looking down at the nice, lined up set of aces with an expression of shock on his face.  
  
"Dammit!" shouted Willis, throwing his hand to the ground.  
  
Ken gathered up his chips as Willis fumed.  
  
"How does he keep winning?!" asked Willis out loud.  
  
"Go again?" asked Ken.  
  
"Sorry," said Willis, opening his now empty wallet. "You already got everything."  
  
"I'm out too," said Michael. "I want to get out of here with the clothes on my back."  
  
Ken fiddled with his new watch.  
  
"I warned you," said Yolei, from over by the air-conditioner with T.K. "Ken's the best card player around."  
  
"Remind me to listen to her from now on," said Willis.  
  
"Anyone want something to drink?" asked Kari from the open refrigerator.  
  
"Any milk in there?" asked Gatomon, who sat on the counter with Hawkmon and Patamon.  
  
"I think so..." said Kari as she moved a few things around.  
  
"Any prune juice?" asked Cody, who was practicing his kendo with Armadillomon.  
  
"Sorry, we don't have-" said Kari before being interrupted by a beeping noise from her D-terminal, which was on the counter with Gatomon.  
  
Very nervously, Kari shut the refrigerator and picked up her D-terminal. The cover flipped open as she quickly opened up the email.  
  
"Did they beat that guy yet?" asked Davis, pulling his shirt back over his torso as he walked inside.  
  
"Umm... not exactly," said Kari after skimming the message.  
  
The others all gathered around her with concerned expressions.  
  
"They say that he escaped, and now he's headed here," said Kari.  
  
"Are they coming?" asked Yolei.  
  
"No," said Kari. "And according to this, they were pretty close to losing big-time!"  
  
"What?" asked T.K. "But, if they almost lost, how can we expect to win?! I'm sorry, but between the eight of us, there's only two Ultimates, and seven Champions."  
  
"Well that's hardly bad," said Veemon.  
  
"But the others had two Megas and four Ultimates!" said Ken. "Unless of course that Jack guy was able to get his crest. Then they would have had five Ultimates."  
  
"Those numbers don't look good," said Armadillomon.  
  
"Hey, can't you guys just DNA digivolve?" asked Michael.  
  
"Afraid not," said Cody.  
  
"We haven't been able to since Gatomon got her tail ring back," said Patamon.  
  
"That's just great..." said Willis.  
  
"So what are we going to do?" asked Terriermon.  
  
"Whatever we can I suppose," said Ken.  
  
"Well I'm certainly filled with confidence," said Michael sarcastically.  
  
"Hey, don't worry," said Davis. "No matter what, we always seem to come out on top!"  
  
"Hey, he's right," said the now enthusiastic T.K. "Come on! I bet we can win this without even breaking a sweat!"  
  
"Yeah!" said Kari.  
  
"One more problem..." said Cody. "How do we find this guy?"  
  
Before anyone could answer, the sound of a massive explosion rushed into the tiny apartment. Everyone jerked around to look outside for what had happened. After a moment they all rushed to the balcony and started to look around.  
  
"There!" shouted Davis, pointing to a thick cloud of dust at the base of a skyscraper on the other side of the park.  
  
"I'd say the problem of finding him has been taken care of," said Willis.  
  
"We'd better move!" said Yolei, holding up her digivice.  
  
"I'm on it!" said Hawkmon.  
  
Yolei's digivice and D-terminal began to beep in unison as Hawkmon armor digivolved to Halsemon.  
  
"All aboard!" said Yolei as she, Davis, Veemon, Armadillomon, and Cody all hopped up on Halsemon's back.  
  
"It's looking a little crowded up there," said Kari.  
  
"So we'll just provide our own transportation," finished T.K.  
  
They both held up their digivices and allowed Patamon and Gatomon to armor digivolve to Pegasusmon and Nefertimon. Kari hopped up on Nefertimon while T.K. saddled up Pegasusmon.  
  
"Hey Kari, can I get a ride?" asked Willis with a smile.  
  
"Sure, hop on," said Kari.  
  
"Not a chance lover boy!" shouted Davis flopping off Halsemon and beginning to run after Willis with Veemon right on his tail.  
  
"Too late Davis!" shouted Willis as Nefertimon took off with him, Kari, Lopmon, and Terriermon on board.  
  
Davis wasn't beaten yet, so he made a mad scramble back to Halsemon, shouting, "Follow that Nefertimon!"  
  
Unfortunately for Davis, Michael and Betamon had just stolen his seat.  
  
"Crap!" shouted Davis.  
  
"Sorry Davis," said Ken as Wormmon digivolved to Stingmon. "But my ride only seats one."  
  
As Ken and Stingmon followed after the others, Davis and Veemon turned to T.K.  
  
"Okay, look here T.P.," said Davis. "I don't like this any more than you do, but we need to make time."  
  
"I'll give you a ride," said T.K. "But only if you'll try to remember my name from now on."  
  
"Deal," said Davis and Veemon as they hopped up onto Pegasusmon's back.  
  
A moment later they were in the air, heading straight for the cloud of dust and debris that was already starting to settle. A brief time later, the landed in the midst of a street that had been pretty much abandoned as soon as that explosion happened. As they landed in an intersection, they could definitely feel something wrong. There was something in the atmosphere, something like a smell, so thick that it was almost tangible. As they looked around, they saw no digimon, but the could see the air appear to quiver. It was as if it were reacting to the presence of something very powerful. They were all very much on guard.  
  
"...Where is he?" whispered Willis.  
  
"How should I know," replied Davis in a similar tone.  
  
"I feel very strange..." said Yolei.  
  
"It's... it's very cold," said Kari. "Very dark..."  
  
"Don't worry Kari," said T.K. "I'll protect you."  
  
"Why is it so cold here?" asked Cody of no one in particular.  
  
"I don't like this one bit," said Armadillomon.  
  
"I think we're being watched..." said Ken. "Studied, like rats in a maze."  
  
"But I'm no good a mazes," said Davis.  
  
"What do you think he's looking for?" asked T.K.  
  
"Hard to say," said Ken. "Maybe a sign of weakness, a way to make an attack, or maybe he wants to see if we're afraid."  
  
"That's got to be it," said T.K. "He must be looking for fear in us. Well I for one am not about to give him the satisfaction."  
  
"What are you going to do?" asked Yolei.  
  
"Hey!" shouted T.K.  
  
T.K.'s voice reverberated throughout the valley of cement buildings all around. There was no answer.  
  
"We're not afraid of you!" shouted T.K. "We've beat guys like you again and again, and I don't see a reason to stop now!"  
  
For a few seconds, there was no movement. All of a sudden, the group heard a noise from a building overhead. They all turned to look, but whatever it was had already vanished.  
  
"Well that didn't work too well," said Michael. "Any other plans?"  
  
"Well, there is a lot of construction in this area," said Yolei. "So most of the buildings around here are abandoned. That's good."  
  
"So it's just him and us..." said Davis. "I think we need to split up."  
  
"Wh-wh-why would you want to do something like that?" asked Yolei, nervously biting her lip.  
  
"Well if we plan to fight him we have to find him first, right?" asked Davis.  
  
"I guess so," said Yolei.  
  
"Just scream when you find him," said Davis. "It's not that hard."  
  
"There's no time to waste," said Veemon. "Let's do this."  
  
So they all split up, heading in different directions to search. T.K. rode on Pegasusmon as he slowly passed down the winding city roads, both of them keeping a keen lookout for anything that might have been their enemy. As they passed beneath the skeletal frame of an old building under renovation, they heard a voice shout down to them.  
  
"Hey guys!" shouted the voice.  
  
They both looked up to see Matt standing on the ledge of the building, several stories above them. He was smiling confidently and seemed pretty calm, despite the cuts and scrapes that he had clearly been dealt. His midnight blue eyes seemed to reflect his strong side perfectly. He looked like he had good news.  
  
"Matt?!" shouted T.K. "What are you doing here?!"  
  
"No time to explain!" yelled Matt. "Just follow me! We've got him cornered!"  
  
T.K.'s eyes lit up on hearing this. Maybe he wouldn't have to fight after all. Maybe they could get through the day without losing anybody. Matt turned and ran back into the hulk of the building as Pegasusmon quickly ascended up to the level where he was. Pegasusmon moved swiftly, flying past rusted support beams every few yards, finding it difficult to maneuver in the eight feet between the ceiling and the floor. Still, he sped along in the direction that Matt had gone, unable to see anything through the darkness. Without warning, a golden light exploded in front of them, knocking them both back and throwing T.K. from Pegasusmon's back. Pegasusmon quickly pulled himself back onto his feet, but not quickly enough. Just as he was back on his hooves, he looked up only to receive a devastating flying-kick to the face from Matt. Pegasusmon was booted back with such force that he was thrown right back out the way he had come in and rammed into the building across the street. T.K.  
meanwhile was just starting to get up. He tried to crawl away from his "brother", but to no avail. A kick from Matt that looked like little more than a tap knocked T.K. back against one of the support pillars. Again, the masquerader approached T.K. T.K. managed to drag himself up into a sitting position, leaning against the column. Matt stood a few feet away, a cruel little smile on his face.  
  
"I'll make this quick, human," said the older boy.  
  
Matt raised his left hand to T.K., aiming a surging ball of flame at him. T.K. shut his eyes tight, but luck was on his side. A moment before the evil imposter could act, the floor beneath him gave way as Flamedramon, engulfed in an aura of fire, surged up through the floorboards directly underneath Matt. Suffice to say, they boy looked surprised. Flamedramon didn't stop there though. Barely slowing down, he continued to ram Matt upward through floor after floor until finally bursting through the concrete rooftop. Once there, Flamedramon pushed Matt away and did a back flip, landing perfectly so that he could face his opponent.  
  
Down below, Davis rushed to T.K.'s aid, followed closely by Pegasusmon.  
  
"Are you alright T.K.?" asked Davis.  
  
"Well what do you know, you finally got it right," said T.K. "I'll be fine, thanks for your help. Let's go get him."  
  
They both hopped onto Pegasusmon, who took them swiftly to the roof where Matt had just picked up Flamedramon by the arm and thrown him over his shoulder, hitting poor Digmon, who had just made it to the roof. Stingmon, Nefertimon, and Halsemon arrived a moment later. They were just about to attack when Flamedramon got back up on his feet, signalling for them to wait.  
  
"Hold off, he's mine," said Flamedramon.  
  
Flamedramon charged at Matt, throwing fiery punches left and right. Unfortunately, the imposter was a very excellent dodger, avoiding every strike. When Flamedramon tried to get a heavy punch to Matt's face, Matt grabbed him by the arm and rolled back, placing his right foot against Flamedramon's stomach and flipping him the length of the rooftop. Matt was smiling the whole while.  
  
"You asked for it," said Flamedramon after getting back on his feet again. "Fire Rocket!"  
  
An aura of intense flames kicked up around Flamedramon, scorching the dilapidated roof beneath his feet. Flamedramon pushed off the ground, making a flying leap at Matt. Matt just stood there, that same cocky smile on his face. When Flamedramon collided with him, it was like hitting a brick wall. Flamedramon bounced back, barely scorching or even moving the boy.  
  
"Heh, heh, heh... Fire was it?" chuckled Matt. "I'll show you how it's done."  
  
Matt's eyes went blank as his muscle mass suddenly began to grow at an incredible rate. The seams in his clothes began to burst as he continued to grow larger and larger at a rapidly increasing rate. His skin grew leathery and reddish, as blue stripes began to appear along his face and arms. A thick tail burst from his back as sharp claws began to protrude from his fingertips. His teeth became vicious fangs, and in one last burst of change, his body became huge as he shed his hair and clothes. He opened his now pinkish eyes, which were guarded by a heavy bone helmet. He had transformed into the biggest, fiercest Greymon any of them had ever seen!  
  
"Nova Flame!" shouted the enraged beast. 


	14. Urban Warfare

[Alrighty, here's the next little chapter of my fic. *Whew* It's been a looooooooooooong day, hasn't it? Well it's getting close to the end as the first digimon gets ready to unload everything he's got. By the way, if anyone is interested, you can find me on AIM at fatedhour03. Please review!]  
  
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The incredible wall of intense blue flame hit Flamedramon so hard that he was thrown for roughly ten blocks before hitting the pavement, tearing it up as he slid for another block. This attack, however, gave Gargomon the opportunity he had been waiting for. Pulling himself up over the ledge and onto the building rooftop, Gargomon unleashed a furious barrage of his Gargo Pellet attack on the unprepared Greymon. Greymon was forced to back up as the explosive shells bombarded him. Greymon shielded himself as best he could with his arms, but they offered little protection. He failed to notice Wendigomon's arrival on the roof of the building to his rear.  
  
"Get him Wendigomon!" shouted Willis, who was riding on Wendigomon's shoulders.  
  
Wendigomon arched his back, revealing two vertical rows of gun ports on his abdomen. His pupils shrank down as a vicious grin crossed his face a moment before unleashing his Choco Crusher attack upon Greymon from behind. The explosive barrage pummeled Greymon in the back mercilessly for a few seconds, quickly throwing up an impenetrable wall of dust and debris that was created when a few stray shots hit the building. Wendigomon continued firing blindly into the black cloud until Greymon's massive, gruesome head popped out, staring right at him. Wendigomon didn't have any time to react before Greymon spat a burst of blue flame at him, which resulted in an explosion that threw Wendigomon the length of the roof. He managed to grab hold of the ledge with his right hand at the last instant. He hung perilously over the roof as Willis maintained his death-grip on Wendigomon's thick fur. By that time, Greymon had already dealt Gargomon a heavy blow from his powerful tail. Stingmon,  
taking advantage of Greymon's momentary distraction, powered up his Spiking Strike and made a mad dash for Greymon, managing to land a forceful blow at the base of Greymon's skull. Greymon was so caught off guard by this, that after stumbling around for a few seconds of trying to regain his balance, Greymon tripped over the ledge, plummeting to the street far below, sending out a thunderous boom and a flood of debris as he plowed into the pavement.  
  
After a few seconds had passed, Greymon once again began to pull himself back up to his feet, struggling against his aching body. He opened his eyes just in time to see Halsemon coming in on a collision course. As Halsemon approached, he began to rapidly spin, creating a tornado-like wind around himself. Smashing headfirst into Greymon, Halsemon began to drill into the great beast's leathery hide. Halsemon used his impressive strength to push Greymon through the ground while building up significant speed. Greymon cringed in noticeable pain as he was pushed backwards through the streets, the shattering ground slicing at his hindquarters. Finally, after pushing for over a mile, Halsemon reached the Tokyo bay, shoving Greymon into the water before breaking off. Once Greymon was in the water he was greeted by Seadramon's head, which rose quickly from the watery depths. Greymon, being poorly suited for water combat, couldn't react before Seadramon coiled his elongated body around  
the evil digimon and dragged him below the surface, kicking furiously. After what seemed like an eternity there was a great surge of water, rising into the air like an explosion. As the water fell back down the bay, two figures could be made out in the mist. One was clearly Seadramon, but the other was not Greymon. After a few seconds, it became clear that the creature had once again changed its form, becoming a Zudomon. Not wasting a second, Zudomon let loose with a terrific punch that split the heavy plating around Seadramon's skull. Seadramon was very disoriented for the next few seconds before Zudomon attacked once again, slamming his hammer up under Seadramon's jaw. The blow sent Seadramon flying out of the water and landing on the nearby docks with a distinctive thud. Zudomon then proceeded to grab hold of the dockside, using it to pull himself out of the water. Before he made it out though, he was suddenly besieged by a series of explosions on his flanks. When he  
turned his head to see who it was that was attacking him he could see the submerged outline of Submarimon, who was preparing to unleash another volley of Oxygen Torpedoes. As Submarimon's second wave approached Zudomon, the great beast narrowed his eyes in apparent annoyance. Suddenly, he exerted a surprising amount of speed and strength, pushing down hard enough to throw his entire body over a hundred feet into the air in under a second. Below, the torpedoes crashed harmlessly against the dockside. Zudomon meanwhile had begun to change once again. A great rift suddenly split his shell down the middle as his hands and feet began to grow leaner. His fingers and toes fused together in such a way that he now had three digits on each talon, each of which was topped with a blade-like claw. His eyes clenched shut as the skin around his muzzle began to rapidly peal away, revealing a vulture-like like beak with a metal plate guarding it. His entire body soon began to tighten in much  
the same way as his arms and legs had, growing smaller while sprouting green feathers. As the last of the Zudomon's skin pealed away, revealing a feathery hide, his shell finally broke off his back completely, disintegrating in mid-air as his huge wings spread out to the sides. Zudomon had now transformed to Parrotmon.  
  
"What's with this guy?!" shouted Davis, who was with the still dizzy Veemon.  
  
"He just never runs out of forms," said Kari, who stood next to him, along with Ken, Stingmon, Yolei, Halsemon, Willis, Gargomon, and Wendigomon.  
  
"Is it just me, or is he not even trying all that hard?" asked the increasingly nervous Yolei.  
  
"Everything has its limits," said Halsemon. "Let's just hope that thing runs out of steam before we do."  
  
"Hey..." said Kari. "Where's T.K.?"  
  
"I thought he was with Davis," said Ken.  
  
"Nah," said Davis. "He just dropped me here and headed off somewhere with Pegasusmon."  
  
"Do you think he chickened out?" asked Willis.  
  
"Not a chance!" said the clearly insulted Kari.  
  
"He would never have run away," mused Stingmon. "But where do you think he went?"  
  
"Maybe he really had to use the bathroom," suggested Davis in his usual clueless tone.  
  
"Maybe they have a plan," said Nefertimon.  
  
"That's clearly the case," said Gargomon confidently.  
  
"How do you know?" asked Ken.  
  
Gargomon motioned to the sky where Parrotmon was. Everyone turned their heads up, where they spied Angemon making a rush for Parrotmon with T.K. on his shoulders. Angemon gripped his Angel Staff in both hands, preparing for a potent downward strike on Parrotmon from behind. Just as he started to bring his weapon down, Parrotmon spun around, catching Angemon's weapon in his unbreakable grip. In one swift motion, Parrotmon tore Angemon's weapon from him and threw it back behind him. Parrotmon grinned evilly as electrical sparks flashed in front of his forehead. A moment later, Parrotmon unleashed his Sonic Destroyer, sending a bolt of lightning piercing through the sky and striking Angemon soundly in the chest. He was headed backwards into a building, but he flipped around at the last second and made a solid landing on his ands and feet. He didn't have any time to waste though, as Parrotmon had just fired his Sonic Destroyer again and it was on its way. Angemon, reacting  
quickly, flipped forward over his hands, turned around to face Parrotmon while still in mid-air, and touched down lightly as Parrotmon's attack tore through the section of the rooftop where Angemon had just been a moment earlier. Angemon, not wanting to give Parrotmon another chance to attack, powered up his Hand of Fate attack, sending the powerful stream of light right at Parrotmon. The attack struck Parrotmon on the chest, pushing him back and causing him to crow out in pain as a large number of his feathers flew off, floating gently down. Angemon then quickly pushed off the roof and flew at Parrotmon, giving him a solid punch to the gut. As Angemon continued his furious assault, the others looked on from below.  
  
"What does he think he's doing?" asked Cody, who had just joined the others along with Armadillomon.  
  
"Does he really have a chance?" asked Yolei.  
  
"I doubt it," replied Wendigomon.  
  
"Then why did he try something so dangerous all on his own?" asked Willis.  
  
"I don't think he was planning to," said Kari.  
  
"He needs our help!" said Nefertimon.  
  
"Yeah!" chimed in Davis. "Let's go!"  
  
Yolei and Kari held their digivices up to their partner digimon, releasing them from their armor forms. With their digimon back to their basic forms, Davis, Cody, Yolei, and Kari activated their digivces again, causing Veemon, Armadillomon, Hawkmon, and Gatomon to digivolve to Exveemon, Ankylomon, Aquilamon, and Angewomon.  
  
"I'm coming T.K.!" shouted Kari as she climbed up onto Angewomon's shoulders.  
  
Angewomon took flight, moving in quickly to help out Angemon and T.K. She got there just in time to catch Angemon, who had just been struck by Parrotmon's right talon.  
  
"You okay guys?" asked Kari, leaning over to see how they were.  
  
"Couldn't be better," said T.K., grinning weakly, as he remained pinned between Angemon and Angewomon.  
  
Kari extended her hand to him with a smile on her face. He eagerly accepted her hand, pulling himself up onto Angewomon's shoulders.  
  
"How about you?" asked Angewomon of Angemon.  
  
"Nothing's broken," said Angemon as Angewomon released him.  
  
"So what's the plan?" asked Angewomon.  
  
"Take those two to safety," said Angemon. "I can hold off Parrotmon for a little while longer."  
  
"Right," said Angewomon, nodding.  
  
The two of them separated. Angewomon quickly made her way down to the street, where all the others had gathered, including Michael and the rejuvenated Seadramon. She let T.K. and Kari off and turned to go back to the fight.  
  
"What do you want us to do?" asked Exveemon.  
  
"Find a good place to ambush him," said Angewomon. "I'll try to get him closer to the ground so he'll be less maneuverable."  
  
"Can do," said Stingmon.  
  
"Wait a sec," said Ken, approaching the front of the group. "I think Angemon might want this back."  
  
Ken held out Angemon's Angel Staff. Angewomon accepted it with a smile before heading back to the battle, where Angemon was narrowly avoiding more of Parrotmon's Sonic Destroyer blasts. Of course, every time Parrotmon missed, he raked the blast along a building, sending debris flying in every direction. Angewomon arrived and tossed Angemon his weapon before moving in on Parrotmon. The great, green bird slapped her away with one of his wings, but Angemon stole an opportunity to crack the monster across the skull with his reacquired weapon. Parrotmon made a clumsy grab at Angemon, only to be booted in the belly by Angewomon. Again he tried to grab at them without any success. The two angel-type digimon were literally flying circles around the large, clumsy Parrotmon. Finally, Parrotmon came up with an idea. He gave an exceptionally hard flap of his wings, creating a gust of wind that threw Angemon and Angewomon back, stunning them for a moment. That was all the creature needed  
though, as he made a fist and struck Angemon from above, sending him careening into the base of a building at the end of the block. Angewomon was barely able to dodge Parrotmon's attack, but she was still disoriented. Parrotmon continued to claw at her, but she somehow managed to evade him, moving side-to-side before finally giving him a good kick to the beak. That move pushed her back far enough to prepare her Heaven Charge attack. She put her hands together in front of her and created a line of pinkish light to shoot from them, perpendicular to the ground. She then quickly slashed her hands to the side, sending out a line of the same energy that ran parallel to the ground. Once done, her attack shot forward at Parrotmon, slicing him across the chest. He was out of it long enough for her to fly up over him and kick him right in the head, sending him plummeting to earth. Parrotmon didn't even have time to get back on his feet before being met by before the combined attacks  
of Gargomon and Wendigomon. As their explosive attacks raged about him he struggled to get back up again. Gargomon rapidly unloaded everything he had, sending a rain of bullets plowing into Parrotmon. Wendigomon ran at Parrotmon, building up a great deal of speed. He leaped through the air with his arm pulled back, striking Parrotmon on the jaw with a ferocious punch that could have flattened an eighteen-wheeler. Parrotmon stumbled backwards, his eyes shut tight. Seconds later, he was met by the extremely unpleasant sensation of being struck solidly in the gut by Ankylomon's Tail Hammer. Parrotmon fell to his knees, gasping for air. He failed to notice Seadramon approach from the front. The great snakelike monster opened his mouth, shooting from it a blast of extremely cold air that engulfed Parrotmon, creating a prison of ice that slowly surround him. Trapped within his frozen encasement, Parrotmon could only watch as Aquilamon came in from down the street. His horns began  
to radiate a strong light as he got ever closer. Parrotmon shut his eyes tight, moments before Aquilamon ran into him, his Grand Horn attack inflicting a great amount of damage. The prison of ice shattered almost instantly as Aquilamon continued to push Parrotmon down the street, his horns penetrating deep into the monster's chest. Finally, Aquilamon pulled up, allowing Parrotmon to keep sliding back into a large building, almost completely destroying the main entrance. Once again, Parrotmon struggled to his feet. One of his eyes had swelled shut and his feathers were spread over the street before him. He saw Stingmon approach, but he knew he would never make it up in time; he was far too quick. Stingmon did a flying kick, ramming his right foot into Parrotmon's stomach at nearly fifty miles per hour. Parrotmon choked up a mouthful of mucous and blood, spitting it out onto himself and Stingmon. Stingmon didn't lose a second. He began to kick Parotmon so rapidly that it all  
looked like nothing more than a blur, topping it off with a powerful kick from his left foot to the right side of Parrotmon's head. The birdlike digimon was catapulted through the air, skidding to a stop in front of Exveemon, who immediately hit him with his V-Laser, throwing the beast in the opposite direction. The force of Exveemon's attack was such that Parrotmon was launched through the air, crashing right through one of the nearby skyscrapers, popping right through the other side. However, what came out the other side was clearly not Parrotmon. It was Diaboromon, and boy was he pissed. He landed on another building and rebounded off of it, landing right in front of Exveemon again. Exveemon could only look on as the cavity in Diaboromon's chest opened wide, firing a Web Wrecker right into Exveemon. Diaboromon immediately turned around, crushing Stingmon and Aquilamon against a building with his Cable Crusher. He fired a few more Web Wreckers at the others, taking down  
Seadramon, Gargomon, Wendigomon, and Ankylomon in one fell swoop. Angewomon came after him, but he dodged to the side and grabbed onto her with his Cable Crusher, beginning to squeeze the life from her. Once she had almost passed out, he threw her to the ground. Immensely proud of himself, Diaboromon turned around, only to be greeted by the clearly enraged Magna Angemon. A little smile crossed Diaboromon's face. Without a word, the two of them charged each other. Diaboromon fired several Web Wreckers, but Magna Angemon deflected them easily. Magna Angemon responded by elbowing Diaboromon in the face. The blow forced Diaboromon back. He crashed into another building, but he was apparently completely unharmed. He peeled his arms from the shattered windows before sliding back to the ground. At that point, Magna Angemon extended his Excalibur, pointing it skyward. He then made a large circle with his arm, forming his most dangerous attack: the Gate of Destiny. The gate floated  
up to about twenty feet in the air before opening wide and creating a powerful force that drew everything not firmly secured into it. Shards of glass from around Diaboromon were all quickly pulled towards the opening. Diaboromon's hair was whipped around by the powerful attack, and he was sliding towards it inch-by-inch, but it would clearly take some more persuasion to get the job done. Magna Angemon pointed his weapon at Diaboromon.  
  
"It's over..." said Magna Angemon.  
  
Magna Angemon leaped through the air, slashing at Diaboromon. Diaboromon blocked Magna Angemon's attacks with his lanky, yet powerful arms. Magna Angemon continued his assault with punches, kicks, and plenty of slashing, eventually moving behind Diaboromon. Diaboromon instantly turned to face Magna Angemon, exposing his back to the Gate of Destiny. Diaboromon had withstood just about enough. The cavity in Diaboromon's chest opened once again, firing a Web Wrecker just as Magna Angemon charged at him. Magna Angemon dodged under the attack with phenomenal speed. Diaboromon's eyes shot open in surprise as he felt Magna Angemon's attack slice into his belly. Having lost control of his body for a moment, Diaboromon was yanked back by the force of the Gate of Destiny, sliding off of Magna Angemon's Excalibur with a sickening noise as his blood stained the pavement. Diaboromon fell back through the air towards the gate, unable to save himself. 


	15. The Ultimate Warrior: Protomon

"Back to oblivion…" whispered Magna Angemon.

Diaboromon was pulled uncontrollably back to the gate.  His body swiftly passed through the swirling vortex, but he managed to save himself at the last second by grabbing onto the golden edge of the gate with his right claw.  Though he had been momentarily weakened by Magna Angemon's assault, it was far from enough to bring him down.  Calling up his terrible inner strength, Diaboromon pulled his body free of the gate, resting along the edge of the gate with his hands and feet keeping him from being sucked in.  He gave a cruel smile as Magna Angemon looked on in shock.

"One such as yourself can never defeat me," said Diaboromon.  "I am the perfect warrior, and nothing will stand in my way."

"What are you trying to accomplish?!" demanded Magna Angemon.  "What purpose could this senseless destruction possibly have?!"

"That is no concern of yours," said Diaboromon.

Diaboromon began to move forward, as though preparing to lunge at Magna Angemon.  Magna Angemon knew that this would most likely be his last chance to gain victory, so he released every ounce of power he had left, radiating a brilliant light that seemed to bask everything in the city in its glow.  In response to this, the Gate of Destiny's strength grew dramatically, pulling on Diaboromon with such force that even he could barely resist.  He was sucked back against the gate.  His muscles strained as the veins in his claws swelled under the extreme tension.  Diaboromon's body shook violently as he struggled to remain in the world of the living.  It quickly became obvious that even his body was by no means designed to handle such stress, as tiny bits of data began to splinter off from his back, falling into the Gate of Destiny and passing on into oblivion.  His back, arms, and legs began to deteriorate rapidly as increasingly large chunks of flesh broke away from Diaboromon's body.  Diaboromon's savage groans could be heard for miles, as his eyes revealed a deep loathing for Magna Angemon at that moment.  As more of the flesh around his left arm was pulled away, it became clear that there was another form, beneath the creature's exterior.  It shone a brilliant white and had no definite shape, but it was clearly structured to imitate Diaboromon's body.  Diaboromon began to thrash about wildly as the degeneration continued to accelerate.  Before long, even the last bits of flesh on his face had broken down into bits of data and were pulled through, leaving just the mysterious figure behind in its place.

"So, is this your true form?" asked Magna Angemon.

"I will not be made a fool of…" said the enraged entity, opening its deep blue eyes.

A sudden burst of fearsome blue energy shot from the creature's hands directly into the Gate of Destiny, washing over the gilded frame.  Once done, all movement within the gate simply ceased and the force that drew everything toward it had dissipated.  The entity smiled a little as the gate abruptly shattered like a pane of glass, falling to the ground in a million tiny shards, which disintegrated a moment later when the being touched down.  Magna Angemon then realized that the creature had once again begun to change.  His entire body tightened, as he stood upright on long legs.  His arms remained quite long, coming down to his knees.

"Time to die…" said the beast, as its eyes changed from an ocean blue to a fiery red, which seemed to wash over the creature's whole face.

There was a sound like the distant rumble of thunder as the figure's white, translucent body suddenly became black, like a menacing storm cloud.  Red sparks of electricity surged up around him as everything in the area was consumed by the growing shadows that seemed to emanate from the beast's body.  The creature lifted its right hand, pointing the slender, outstretched fingers at Magna Angemon.  Magna Angemon had no idea what to do.  He was almost completely drained after pouring all of his energy into the Gate of Destiny.  As snakelike ribbons of red light coiled up around the monster's fingers, as though preparing to strike, he smirked cruelly.  A rapidly pulsating sphere of red energy formed in the creature's palm as a strong wind began to blow.  The sphere began to grow larger and larger until it was roughly twice the size of a basketball.  Sparks shot from the sphere, tearing up whatever they came in contact with.  The beast gripped his right wrist so as to stabilize his shot before releasing it.  Magna Angemon tried to pull himself away, but he knew he wouldn't be fast enough.  At the last possible second, an instant before the monster released his attack, a beam of intense white light pierced through his belly, slicing his body in two at the waist.  His attack immediately dissipated as his torso fell forward, revealing his assailant.  Behind his now lifeless legs stood Angewomon, her bow-like arm still raised and a rainbow-colored aura surrounding her.

"What took you so long?" asked Magna Angemon with a smile.

"Timing is everything you know," said Angewomon, returning the smile.

She casually walked over to Magna Angemon and extended her hand to him, which he quickly accepted.  Back on his feet, Magna Angemon's gaze turned to the broken body of their enemy.  He lay facedown in the street while his legs remained upright.  The other digimon and the DigiDestined quickly joined Angewomon and Magna Angemon from behind.

"Looks to me like we've won," said Ankylomon.

"It's a shame really," said Magna Angemon.

"What?" asked Exveemon.  "How do you mean?"

"This digimon was not responsible for his actions," said Magna Angemon.  "It was the work of those men in dark robes that corrupted his once pure spirit."

"So what happens next?" asked T.K.

"Next, we need to rest," said Angewomon.  "I fear what the coming of this digimon might portend."

"What are you talking about?" asked Cody.

"I get it," said Ken.  "You're concerned about the guys in the robes."

"It's more than that," said Magna Angemon.  "I don't know the whole story, but I do know what the return of this digimon represents."

"Wh-what d-does it represent?" asked Yolei.

"Only time will tell," said Angewomon.  "But it will almost certainly be bad."

"How bad?" asked Michael.

"Well if the stories are any indication," said Magna Angemon.  "It could mean the end of both the digital world and the human world."

"Whoa…" said Willis.

"No way!" exclaimed Gargomon.  "How could that be?"

"You won't be alive long enough to find out," said a frighteningly familiar voice from behind Magna Angemon.

The whole group turned to look at what remained of their enemy.  His torso was floating in mid-air, and his red eyes seethed with rage.

"HE'S ALIVE?!" shouted Davis in disbelief.

"Very much so!" responded the monster.  "And now I am angry!  Few have lived to see my true form, and none have lived long after doing so.  Prepare yourselves for oblivion!"

The creature's torso placed itself firmly back on its legs, resealing the wound.  Suddenly, its bulk seemed to more than double as its body solidified into a definite shape, which was totally black.  Slowly but surely, coloration began to appear on the terrifying creature that towered over them.  One great burst of intense red light shot out from the entity's body before finally unveiling it in its true grandeur.

"Damn…" said the wide-eyed Davis.

"I wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley," said T.K., who backed away in terror of the beast.

"I think I'll be going now," murmured Yolei.

The creature's true form was revealed upon digivolving to his Mega level, and it was indescribably sinister.  The DigiDestined could not help being struck with intense awe for the impressive being that stood before him.  The figure stood approximately fifteen feet tall and was clad in thick, leathery, creased dark purple skin without as much as a trace of hair.  It possessed an elongated head with a muzzle like a hawk's beak, except the being had no mouth and his muzzle was fleshy rather than bone-like.  Jutting from just above its eyes were a pair of long, smooth cranial plates, one right on top of the other.  Thick ridges ran down the edges of the plates, merging together where the creatures temple was and flowing directly into its heavy brow.  Below the ridges were its long, narrow, sunken eyes, which radiated a dreadful red energy.  The monster's leathery, creased face was accented by two rows of four spines each, which jutted from below and slightly behind his eyes, right where the would-be jawbone curved up toward the temples.  Behind that and below the bottom cranial plate was the thick, venous flesh that wrapped around the skull of the beast, protecting its oversized brain.  Below that was the beast's thick, powerful neck, which lurched forward slightly, making him look almost vulture-like.  A row of sharp spikes, much like those that jutted from his jawbone, ran down his spine from the base of his skull to the base of his spinal column.  His neck quickly gave way to his large, muscular chest that thinned down significantly around his abdomen, which was thinner than his neck.  Draped over his shoulders was a very heavy, whit cape, which reached down to the ground.  Despite the obvious weight of the garment, it seemed to move of its own free will, swaying about the creature's body like a living fog.  The cape was secured in front of his chest with a large, bejeweled clasp, and it was held firmly on his shoulders by a pair of very thick, golden shoulder-pads, each of which was made up of two thick plates.  His shoulder gear was very large, even for him, and a golden chain that went around his back connected them.  His shoulders were well hidden, but his mighty forearms were clearly visible.  His right arm seemed to be guarded by a thick, bone-like structure just below the skin, which apparently wrapped around the more sensitive structures that were connected directly to his hand, which was made up of three fingers, each of which was tipped by a claw.  In his right hand, he gripped a modest, yet clearly powerful-looking long-sword.  The hilt was made out of a golden material, and the grip was bound with some type of dark brown leather.  The blade was relatively narrow at the point where it was attached to the hilt, but a few inches out it spread out to a fair width.  It gradually got narrower the further down the blade it got, being tipped off with a deadly, triangular point.  The total length of the sword would have easily stood at the beast's pectorals.  His left forearm seemed designed for defense, as it was equipped with a slightly larger, and significantly thicker plate than his right arm was.  This plating could easily serve as an excellent shield.  Wrapped around his waist was a long, red sash.  It stretched from beneath his left shoulder-pad,  across his chest, back behind his waist, around his waist twice before being secured tightly by a circular, golden buckle in front of his pelvis, and it hung down loosely between his legs.  The end of the sash appeared to be shredded.  The monster's  leg-structure was similar to that of Flamedramon, having two knee-like joints, but its legs were much more muscular, creating several ridges along the length of them.  His feet each had three toes and a padded sole.  The two primary toes on each foot, which both pointed forward, were disproportionately large, with huge, claws at the end of them.  The third toe on each foot was much smaller and was pointed inward.  Although smaller, these toes still possessed claws that could probably slice better than any knife on the market.

"It is him…" said Angewomon.

"Protomon…" said Magna Angemon.

"I'm flattered that you recognize me," said the beast in a voice that had a strange, reverberating quality that made it seem completely out of this world.  "I am indeed Protomon, the first and foremost digimon.  My power is restored to me, and I will prove it by beating you DigiDestined all together, or at least those who were brave enough to come face me…"

"What are you talking about?" demanded Kari.

"Don't you get it?" asked Protomon snidely.  "I wish to hold a showdown.  All of you shall fight against me together.  I shall prove to you that you are inferior beings, deserving nothing more than the right to die beneath my heel."

"So it's a fight you want…" said Davis.  "Then come and get it!"

"Not here," said Protomon.  "I want this world untouched when I come for it.  I have someplace else in mind…"

Protomon laughed an extremely unsettling laugh as he seemed to fade from existence.

A moment later, Protomon had reconstituted himself at a web-site on the Internet.  There was nothing but white as far as the eye could see.  That soon changed as Protomon raised his left hand high over his head.  A great darkness immediately overcame everything in sight.  With a sweeping gesture from his hand, Protomon created a huge sphere of large, glowing, blue, rectangular panels, which created the outer edge of the battlefield.  One by one, fifteen of the panels began to glow, each with a separate crest.

"Now, young warriors…" whispered Protomon.  "Come to me, and meet your destiny."

Tai and Agumon appeared above the Crest of Courage.

"Well Agumon, I guess this is it; the last battle," said Tai.  "At least according to Gennai.  You know, we might never see each other again after this."

"I'm not scared Tai," replied Agumon.  "Besides, you won't get rid of me that easily."

Agumon warp digivolved to Wargreymon.  Matt and Gabumon appeared above the Crest of Friendship.

"You know I'm not good at this sort of thing Gabumon, but I…" said Matt.

"I know Matt," said Gabumon.  "I'll always be your friend too."

Gabumon warp digivolved to Metalgarurumon.  Sora and Biyomon appeared above the Crest of Love.

"I love you, Biyomon," said Sora.

"I love you too, Sora," responded Biyomon.

Biyomon digivolved to Garudamon.  Izzy and Tentomon appeared above the Crest of Knowledge.

"It's been really great having you as a friend Tentomon," said Izzy.  "Let's make this fight our best.  I don't really know what else to say."

"It's okay Izzy, I know your not good at this emotional stuff," said Tentomon.  "I feel the same way."

Tentomon digivolved to Megakabuterimon.  Joe and Gomamon appeared above the Crest of Reliability.

"Alright Gomamon, I'm fired up.  How about you?" asked Joe.  
            "Whenever you get excited I know we'll come out on top.  Let's go!" shouted Gomamon.

Gomamon digivolved to Zudomon.  Mimi and Palmon appeared above the Crest of Sincerity.

"Oh Palmon, I don't know if I could stand to lose you again," said Mimi.

"Don't worry Mimi.  As long as we remember each other, we'll always be together."

Palmon digivolved to Lillymon. Jack and Stormdramon appeared above the Crest of Honor.

"I guess this fight is the reason we were teamed up in the first place," said Jack. "I wonder if we'll be able to stay together after this."

"I'm sure we will," replied Stormdramon. "What better reward could there be for all our hard work?  Now let's get to it!"

Stormdramon digivolved to Metaldracomon.  Davis and Veemon appeared above the Crest of Miracles.

"So this is it.  It seems like it was only yesterday that we met," said Davis.

"I feel the same way.  Let's win this one for both our worlds," replied Veemon.

Veemon golden armor digivolved to Magnamon.  Willis, Terriermon, and Lopmon appeared above the Crest of Destiny.

"So this is what we're together for, guys," said Willis. "Oh well, I guess it's all up to us"

"You know Willis, you really need to trust the others more," said Terriermon. "They are the best friends we could have."

"He's right," said Lopmon.  "If it weren't for them, I would still be under the control of that virus."

"You're right," said Willis.  "I will try to trust them a bit more from now on.  Now let's show Protomon what we're made of!"

Terriermon golden armor digivolved to Rapidmon.  Lopmon digivolved to Antylamon.  Yolei and Hawkmon appeared above the Crests of Love and Sincerity.

"Alright Hawkmon, let's blast that evil digimon back to the stone-age!" exclaimed Yolei.

"I'll be right behind you, Yolei," said Hawkmon.

Hawkmon digivolved to Aquilamon.  Cody and Armadillomon appeared above the Crests of Knowledge and Reliability.

"Are you sure you're ready for this Armadillomon?" asked Cody.  
            "With you at my side, I'll be ready for anything," said Armadillomon warmly.

Armadillomon digivolved to Ankylomon.  Ken and Wormmon appeared above the Crest of Kindness.

"Thank you for always believing in me Wormmon," said Ken.  "Without you, there's no way I could have made it this far."

"I would have never left you Ken," responded Wormmon.  "I know the kind person that you really are."

Wormmon digivolved to Stingmon.  Michael and Betamon appeared above a blank panel.

"At last, this is what we're together for Betamon.  I'm starting to feel like I can make a real difference in this battle!" said the enthusiastic Michael.

"Let's show this clown what we're all about!" said Betamon.

Betamon digivolved to Seadramon.  T.K. and Patamon appeared above the Crest of Hope.

"I can't believe this could be it.  Patamon… I… I…" said T.K. as tears began to form in his eyes.

"T.K.?  Are you crying?" asked Patamon.

"Sniff… Of course I'm not.  I grew out of that years ago… sniff.  I…I just hope that we'll still be together after the battle," said T.K.

"You shouldn't hold back when you really mean it," said Patamon.  "There are times when it's okay to cry."

"You're right Patamon, but this is not one of those times," said the suddenly stone-faced T.K.  "Now is the time for our last battle together.  Let's go!"

Patamon warp digivolved to Seraphimon.  Kari and Gatomon appeared above the Crest of Light.

"Oh Gatomon, you've been the best friend I've ever had," said Kari.

"I know Kari," replied Gatomon.  "Remember, I'll always be here to protect you."

Gatomon warp digivolved to Magnadramon.


	16. The Sword and Spear of Protomon

[A/N: Well it would seem that the final battle has begun. Protomon is a truly vicious and overpowering fighter, unlike anything they've ever faced before. Of course, Protomon doesn't know what he's up against either, does he? With two golden-armor digimon, Seraphimon, and Magnadramon, it looks to be an intense battle. You're not going to want to miss this fight! Another thing you won't want to miss is seeing some of my original characters. If my descriptions just didn't cut it for you, Flarex9 has agreed to display pics from my stories. Head to right now to see some lovely little drawings of Jack, Stormdramon, Dracomon, and of course Protomon. Anyway, I've taken up enough of your time. Here's part 16 of **The White DigiEgg**]  
  
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"You actually think you… children… have what it takes to defeat me?!" demanded Protomon.  "I find it insulting that YOU are the finest combatants awaiting me upon my return.  Nevertheless, a fight is a fight.  Time to die…"

Wargreymon and Metalgarurumon launched themselves full-speed at Protomon.  Metalgarurumon unleashed his Ice Wolf Bite attack, firing a deadly barrage of missiles, which exploded in huge clusters of ice upon impacting Protomon.  When the explosions cleared, Protomon remained unmoved, without a scratch on him.  Suddenly, he flew forward with phenomenal speed.  His cape flailed about wildly behind him as he moved in on Metalgarurumon with his huge sword ready to strike.

"Gallant Sword!" shouted Protomon, slicing Metalgarurumon across the muzzle with a broad stroke.

Metalgarurumon pulled back in surprise as a mixture of blood and oil dripped from the open wound, pooling near his right eye.  Wargreymon immediately attacked, quickly charging up his Terra Force and lobbing the attack at Protomon.  Protomon spun to the side, letting the sphere of energy fly past him, singing his cape.  As the attack rushed past, exploding upon impact with one of the glowing blue panels, an intense white light could be seen forming in Protomon's bulky left hand.  Wargreymon tried to move, but Protomon proved very swift indeed, swiping his hand towards Wargreymon and discharging the attack faster than you could blink.  The Protolance as it was called was a bolt of white, piercing energy that shone in the darkened battlefield like the moon in the middle of the night.  Roughly four feet in length and a foot in diameter at its greatest point, the mighty attack struck Wargreymon soundly on the chest-plate, knocking the wind out of him.  At that moment, Metalgarurumon charged at Protomon, pouncing on him with his claws outstretched.  Protomon, not expecting the assault, was knocked back as Metalgarurumon rebounded off him.  Unfortunately for Metalgarurumon, Protomon was able to catch the metallic wolf by his left hind leg.  Metalgarurumon tried to kick Protomon away, but to no avail.  Protomon jerked Metalgarurumon's leg so hard that it felt as though it would pop out of its socket.  In one complete spin around, Protomon had built up an astounding amount of speed.  He released Metalgarurumon suddenly, flinging him headfirst into Wargreymon and sending them both sailing back into one of the luminescent blue panels that surrounded the battlefield.  The two of them hit hard, sending up an explosion of debris.  Tai and Matt hastily hopped from panel to panel towards where their companions lay.  Metalgarurumon and Wargreymon, perhaps the two most powerful digimon there, had been taken down in less than five seconds.

"Did anyone catch the number of that bus?" asked the dazed Wargreymon as Tai and Matt reached the two injured digimon that lay in a pile.

"Are you okay Metalgarurumon?" asked Matt.

"I've had better days," replied the wounded Metalgarurumon.

"Hang in there," said Tai.  "Just catch your breath and head back out as soon as you can, ideally with a different strategy."

"Don't worry guys," shouted Davis from a few panels over, alongside Ken, Cody, and Yolei. "We'll handle this!"

Magnamon, Stingmon, and Aquilamon rushed forward through the air as Ankylomon bounded from panel to panel, making his way over towards Protomon.  Aquilamon came in fast, ramming the clearly confident Protomon into a blue panel with his Grand Horn attack.  Aquilamon buried Protomon in the wall as best as he could before breaking off for fear of reprisal.  Ankylomon immediately came in with his Tail Hammer, slamming the sledge-like appendage wholeheartedly into Protomon, crushing him even further into the section.  Protomon, who was hardly one to take this abuse lying down, quickly pushed Ankylomon's tail away from himself and pulled himself from the flooring.  He leaped back into the air where Stingmon came after him with his Spiking Strike.  Protomon dodged to the side and elbowed Stingmon in the back of the skull.  As Stingmon fell to the ground, Protomon picked Ankylomon up by the tail and flung him into Aquilamon, knocking them back into a piece of flooring on the opposite side of the huge war-zone and out of the fight.  The situation was not good when out of the blue Rapidmon, accompanied by Antylamon, showed up on the scene.

"All right!" shouted Davis, who was standing with Willis a few panels back from the new arrivals. "Let's show this guy what happens when you mess with the DigiDestined!"

"Get him guys!" said Willis.

Magnamon landed on one of the panels as his shoulder pads opened, releasing a set of four missiles that headed straight for Protomon.  The second he fired his missiles, Magnamon shot through the air, passing by Protomon in a flash before spinning around.  Acting out of instinct, Protomon swiveled to face Magnamon, exposing his back to Magnamon's attack.  All four missiles hit, causing an explosion that enveloped Protomon.  Before the explosion had even begun to calm itself, Magnamon pulled his arms back behind his head and generated a storm of golden sparks all around him, charging up his Magna Blast attack.  Thrusting his arms forward again, he released a series of energy streams from his glowing armor.  The rainbow-colored beams could be heard tearing at Protomon's body as they passed through the explosion, throwing bits of blood, flesh, and armor out.  As the explosion dissipated, leaving only a thick cloud of smoke in its place, Magnamon continued firing away with no sign of relenting when Protomon put a stop to it.  Making a broad sweep with his left arm, Protomon split the cloud of smoke from in front of him.  There were dozens of tiny punctures all over his body, oozing with blood.  Clearly annoyed, Protomon raised his plated left arm in front of Magnamon's attacks, deflecting them right back at him.  The attacks struck Magnamon, causing him to back off, but the door had been opened for Rapidmon, who assaulted Protomon from behind with his Rapid Fire attack, the result of which knocked Protomon against one of the panels.  A last-second flip by Protomon caused him to land safely on his knees and left hand.  He gazed back up at Rapidmon, a glow of anger in his eyes.  Then, out of the blue, Stingmon came up from behind him, striking him in the back with his Spiking Strike and sending Protomon hurtling back into the air.  As Protomon prepared to retaliate, Antylamon jumped up from a panel below, grabbed Protomon by the head and flung him to the ground, sending up yet another cloud of debris.

"Did we get him?" asked Ken.

"Not even close!" said Protomon from within the cloud.

Just then, Protomon shot out of the cloud of dust like a rocket.  He sliced Stingmon across the leg and Antylamon on the face with a single swipe from his Gallant Sword.  Rapidmon and Magnamon launched their Rapid Fire and Magna Blast attacks at Protomon again, but he was far too swift.  A sturdy kick to Rapidmon's torso removed him from the fight while a swift and decisive head-butt to Magnamon's forehead dealt a stunning blow to him, throwing him back into another panel.  As he awaited his next opponent, Protomon, seeming as though he was smiling, flexed his muscles.  The wounds he had sustained from Magnamon healed easily, making it clear to all that Protomon had never been in real danger from the attack, and that he had just been toying with those who had come to fight him.

"We're not done yet!" shouted Davis.

"I'm afraid that I might be," said Magnamon as he de-digivolved to Veemon.

Meanwhile, back above the Crest of Light, Magnadramon closed he eyes and opened her left claw upwards.  A field of golden light began to amass in her palm, condensing into the brilliantly glowing tail ring of Gatomon.  The light seemed to pierce every corner of the room.  Veemon and Stingmon seemed to resonate with the same light.

"What's going on?!" shouted Davis, who was now standing next to Ken.

"They're reacting to it!" said Ken.  "I think we both know what this mean!"

"I gotcha'!" said Davis, pulling out his D-3.  "Let's do this!"

Veemon stood up again, apparently rejuvenated.  He closed his eyes and digivolved to Exveemon.

"We're going to win this!" said Ken, holding out his dark D-3.

The two digivices began to glow too, as Exveemon and Stingmon once again DNA digivolved to Paildramon.  Not wasting another precious second, and overflowing with power, Paildramon mega digivolved to Imperialdramon, and then swiftly mode-changed to his fighter form.

"Go get him guys!" yelled Davis.

"Let's take him down!" said Ken.

"Ready or not, here I come!" shouted Imperialdramon, springing forth

Imperialdramon came in with a heavy punch, but Protomon raised his left arm to block.  Despite Imperialdramon's size and strength, Protomon remained unmoved.  Imperialdramon quickly withdrew his fist and followed up his attack with a kick to Protomon's side.  The powerful digimon once again easily blocked the assault.  He then flipped his left hand around and got a grip on Imperialdramon's leg, using it to pull himself closer to Imperialdramon.  Imperialdramon tried to back away, as he was not exactly built for extremely close-quarters combat.  He was nowhere near quick enough though, as Protomon soon proved by kneeing him in the gut before punching him in the jaw.  Imperialdramon was forced back against a cluster of panels, but wasn't seriously injured.  He was still strong enough to see Protomon's incoming Protolance heading right for him.  Imperialdramon pulled himself out of the way, rolling off to the side mere moments before the attack split the panel in two.  Imperialdramon, still against the wall, brought his right arm to bear on Protomon.  He took careful aim before firing his Positron Laser.  The stream tore through the air, shunting any drifting debris from its path while basking the entire room in a bluish-purple glow.  Protomon twisted to the side just in time, allowing the attack to pass harmlessly beneath his stomach.  Imperialdramon swiftly took aim again and fired at Protomon once again, only to have Protomon once again evaded.

"He's too quick for this range…" murmured Imperialdramon.  "Got to get closer."

Imperialdramon fired again as he pushed himself from the wall.  As was expected, Protomon dodged again.  Imperialdramon kept on firing, drawing ever closer to his target.  Then, just when Imperialdramon reached him, Protomon sped forward, catching Imperialdramon off guard with a kick to the forehead.  Protomon used the propulsive force of the kick to launch himself across the battlefield before landing on a panel.  After rubbing his forehead for a few seconds, Imperialdramon fired at Protomon, but the wily digimon moved so quickly to another panel that it looked as though he hadn't crossed the space in between.  Imperialdramon fired again with similar results.  Imperialdramon began to fire in increasingly rapid pulses, but Protomon was always just one step ahead of him, moving from panel to panel in the blink of an eye.  Their speed was truly phenomenal.  Imperialdramon kept on firing and attempting to close in on Protomon, but it was soon clear that he wasn't doing too well.  Finally, in a fit of rage, Imperialdramon powered up his Positron Laser to its maximum.  Trembling with power, Imperialdramon tried to steady his shot as best he could.  Sweating under the strain he was putting his body through, Imperialdramon took careful aim for Protomon.  With a terrible yell, Imperialdramon forced all of his power through his cannon.  A huge pulse of energy was pushed forth at the head of his beam, heading for Protomon with such force that it nearly knocked all the other digimon who were still standing and the DigiDestined flat on their backs.  The light from the blast cast eerie shadows all over the place.  Protomon stared at the oncoming attack without fear.  An instant before the assault struck him he once again vanished from sight.  Imperialdramon could just barely make out his image, moving incredibly fast, head up and to the left.  Imperialdramon swung his weapon to match Protomon's course; Imperialdramon would not let him escape.  The Positron Laser sliced through a long row of panels, leaving a river of explosions in its wake.  Imperialdramon kept on firing a steady pulse, twisting and turning his attack to match Protomon's advance.  Protomon dodged from panel to panel, always with the Positron Laser right on his tail.  Perhaps inevitably, the Imperialdramon's attack caught up with him, slicing a gash in his left leg.  Protomon cried out and he hesitated for just a moment.  That moment was all Imperialdramon needed.  A huge explosion engulfed Protomon.  His fierce, inhuman cry echoed throughout the entire area, sending chills down the DigiDestineds' spines.  After about ten more seconds, Imperialdramon finally stopped his attack.  His arms fell limply at his sides while his head slumped forward.  He was breathing very heavily, and beads of sweat trickled down the sides of his face.

"…Victory…" muttered the exhausted Imperialdramon.

"Victory indeed!" said the fiery voice of Protomon from behind him.

Imperialdramon instinctively spun around and sliced at Protomon with the large blade on his right arm.  Protomon raised his own right arm up to block, but the blade cut deep into his wrist, drawing blood.  Clearly angered, Protomon raised his left hand up to Imperialdramon's breastplate and released a Protolance into him at point-blank range.  The pulse of light tore through his torso like a baseball through a piece of paper.  Imperialdramon's eyes opened wide as chunks of metal, flesh, and blood splintered from his body, leaving a gaping cavity in his body.  Not even given time to consider the damage, Imperialdramon was hit in the face with a very heavy blow.  Imperialdramon smashed into a group of panel.  He didn't stir or even open his eyes.  Davis and Ken quickly ran over to him.  He was alive, but barely.


	17. Judgement

"We… we lost," muttered Davis. "How can this be?"

"We're dropping like flies," said Ken.

"Don't give up yet!" shouted Michael. "We got ya' covered!"

Michael rode into battle on Seadramon's back, accompanied by Izzy on Mega Kabuterimon and Jack on Metaldracomon.

Seadramon swung his jaw wide open and released his Ice Blast attack at Protomon. Protomon, however, was completely unfazed by the attack, allowing the frigid air to simply slide off him. Mega Kabuterimon then fired his Horn Buster at Protomon, but once again the evil digimon barely took notice of the assault. Metaldracomon flew up behind Protomon with his right arm extended. He fired his Giga Flare at the beast, but by merely glancing over his shoulder, Protomon caused the attack to disperse before it ever reached him. Enraged, Metaldracomon threw himself at Protomon with his claws raised to strike. Just as Metaldracomon slashed at him, he vanished and immediately reappeared a few yards behind Metaldracomon. Metaldracomon spun around, his lip raised into a snarl. Beads of sweat dribbled down the side of his face. Moving as rapidly as he could, Metaldracomon lifted his right arm to Protomon and fired again, only to have Protomon dodge with ease. The nearly berserk Metaldracomon fired again and again at Protomon but to no avail. Every single attack was dodged with apparently minimal effort. Finally, after more than a dozen shots fired, Metaldracomon slumped forward. He had exhausted a lot of his energy from such a rapid series of attacks. With a look of disappointment scrawled across his face, Protomon vanished once again, reappearing directly behind Metaldracomon. Fortunately, Metaldracomon's reflexes were as strong as ever. He spun himself around, moving his head to the side just in time to avoid a fearsome punch. Metaldracomon quickly locked claws with Protomon, trying desperately to push him back. Protomon held his ground though, undeterred by Metaldracomon's abilities. This was the opportunity that Mega Kabuterimon had been waiting for: a chance to charge from behind. Mega Kabuterimon propelled himself at top speed towards Protomon from behind, lining his charge up just right. At the last second though, just when Mega Kabuterimon was about to make contact with Protomon, the sinister digimon vanished yet again, causing Mega Kabuterimon to ram into Metaldracomon. Unable to stop, Mega Kabuterimon slammed Metaldracomon back into a panel, effectively getting himself stuck in the panel as well. As Protomon chuckled to himself, Seadramon crept up on him and bound him with his mighty coils in a single, fluent motion. Seadramon squeezed with every ounce of strength he had, but it was only a matter of time before Protomon escaped. During this struggle, Megakabuterimon and Metaldracomon freed themselves and were ready to strike at any time.

"That's it Seadramon!" shouted Michael. "He can't hold out forever."

"Neither can you!" said Protomon.

Just then, Protomon began spinning around, taking Seadramon along for the ride. As they spun faster and faster, it became too much for Seadramon to bear and he was thrown off, slamming into another panel in a very confused state. Metaldracomon and Megakabuterimon rushed at Protomon again, but a few swift blows from his Gallant Sword sent them reeling.

"I don't get it!" said Jack as Metaldracomon coddled the bloody wound on his leg. "Why did we come all this way, finally join with the other DigiDestined, and get the Crest of Honor if we're just going to lose?!"

"This is bad," said Izzy while Mega Kabuterimon inspected his pierced carapace. "We've faced a lot of no-win situations before and beat them all, but this guy seems to be stronger than any Mega digimon we've ever encountered. Piedmon… Diaboromon… and even Daemon couldn't hold a candle to this guy! He's barely winded!"

"Seadramon!" cried Michael, watching Seadramon drift in and out of consciousness. "Wake up buddy! Come on, we have to fight!"

By this time, Protomon had engaged Zudomon, Lillymon, and Garudamon. While Garudamon distracted Protomon by flying circles around him, Lillymon moved in and used her Flower Wreath on him, binding his arms to his sides. Taking advantage of Protomon's temporary incapacitation, Zudomon threw his Vulcan's Hammer at Protomon, striking a heavy blow and stunning him. Garudamon quickly followed this up by pouncing on Protomon with all four claws and ramming him backward into a panel. As Protomon lay pinned beneath her claws, Garudamon spread her wings over her head and charged a wave of flame around them. With one great flap from her wings, Garudamon sent the full force of her Wing Blade attack straight down on Protomon. Garudamon leaped away as a circle of dust rose up around the crater that now encircled Protomon. Lillymon swiftly moved in, firing her Flower Cannon and striking Protomon squarely on the chest. The explosion created a large dust cloud that the DigiDestined couldn't see through.

"Yeah!" said Joe enthusiastically. "He's gonna need a doctor after that hit."

"That'll show him," said Mimi.

"We'd better be careful," said Sora. "He could come shooting out of there at any second."

No sooner had Sora finished saying this than one of Protomon's Protolances flew from the cloud, passed in between Garudamon and Lillymon, and struck Zudomon in the chest. Two more bolts came out. One struck Garudamon, but Lillymon dodged the other. Protomon burst from the cloud, splitting it from around him as he moved in on Lillymon with his Gallant Sword. Lillymon's speed suddenly became vital to her continued survival as she managed to dodge several broad sweeps from Protomon's deadly weapon. One sweeping horizontal slash caused Lillymon to bend over backwards to avoid the blade, which came within a centimeter of her. Lillymon may have escaped the blade, but she had left herself open to one of Protomon's powerful kicks, which smashed her into one of the panels like so many before her.

"We're the only ones left," said T.K. nervously as he looked across the battlefield.

"Remember," said Seraphimon. "Protomon is an evil digimon, so our attacks will be extremely effective against him."

"And of course," said Magnadramon. "We are both at our Mega level. I think there's a slim chance that we can beat him."

"You're right," said Kari. "We're the last chance our world has. We've always come through before, and this time will be no different!"

The two powerful digimon launched themselves from their platforms with their human partners riding on their backs. They circled around their sinister opponent, looking for any sign of weakness. Protomon seemed quite calm and content under their scrutiny, waiting for one of them to make a move. Without warning, a burning light welled up from Magnadramon's gullet and shot from her mouth in a swirling beam of flame called the Fire Tornado. Protomon drew his sword with amazing speed and slashed it through the approaching attack, causing it to seemingly melt away. Protomon fired a Protolance from his left hand as he dispersed the attack with his right. Magnadramon dodged to the side just in time to avoid being hit, but the attack was so close that the energy pouring from the attack scorched her belly. Protomon was so busy dealing with Magnadramon that he failed to notice Seraphimon cross his arms in front of him in the shape of an X. A golden sphere of light formed in front of Seraphimon's arms as he began to chant in some strange language, seeming to draw in power from all around him. Smaller orbs of light seemed to flow into the larger one as Seraphimon bowed his head. Protomon suddenly became aware of the energy buildup behind him and turned to see what it was. The moment he turned around, Seraphimon swiped his arms to the sides, unleashing his Seven Heavens attack. The sphere of energy split into seven streams of golden light, each of which headed out in a different direction. They all shared a common destination though, converging on Protomon at the same instant from all sides, leaving him nowhere to run. All seven streams of light struck simultaneously, creating an explosion that basked the entire room in its warm radiance. Not wasting a second, Magnadramon shot her Fire Tornado into the burning explosion that had engulfed Protomon. A second later though, Protomon shot upwards through the top of the raging mixture of attacks. He was moving like a bat out of Hell as smoke poured off his cracked and scorched flesh. His eyes were wide and glowing intensely red. He landed on the highest panel in the whole site, looking down at his opponents with a combination of shock and outrage. After catching his breath, Protomon narrowed his eyes once again, focussing in on Magnadramon.

"Unbelievable…" muttered Protomon. "They should never have been able to be THIS strong. There must be more to those humans than meets the eye. Either that or this body is weaker than I thought it had become…"

"What's the matter Protomon?!" shouted T.K. "Getting tired?!"

"Insolent peon!" shouted Protomon. "I went easy on you before, but now I will teach you what real pain is!"

Protomon once again flew into the fight, moving in at top speed. Magnadramon repeatedly let fly with her Fire Tornado while Seraphimon released his Seven Heavens a few more times. Protomon's speed and agility were far too great for them though. He dodged left and right with some of the most polished fighting moves anywhere in the Digital World. Unimpeded by the assault, Protomon was suddenly right on top of Magnadramon and Seraphimon. He drew his sword rapidly, causing it to glint in the dim lighting of the room. Magnadramon tried to back off, but the Gallant Sword's aim was true, driving itself into her side, between the fifth and sixth ribs. Magnadramon cried out in pain, looking very stunned. Protomon withdrew his bloodstained sword from Magnadramon's torso with a sickening noise, causing Magnadramon to cry out again. Seraphimon came at Protomon with a punch ready, but a well-timed kick sent him flying. Protomon quickly secured his sword in the sash around his waist and grabbed Magnadramon by the horns. Kari looked up at him with an expression of absolute terror.

"Oblivion awaits, my dear…" said Protomon.

Suddenly, Protomon smashed his knee into Magnadramon's face, breaking her snout. Magnadramon seized her face in response to the pain, just before Protomon kicked her in the stomach, causing her to crash into a panel. The impact knocked both Magnadramon and Kari out cold.

"Kari! Magnadramon!" shouted T.K. with tears in his ocean blue eyes.

"You… you monster!" shouted Seraphimon. "You've gone too far! You are going to pay!"

"Hah! Surely you jest," laughed Protomon.

"No joke!" asserted T.K. "We're going to win this!"

"You may have given me a slight challenge, but now my final victory is at hand!" said Protomon. "Time and again you've defeated those that came before me. You will pay for what you've done to them and to me. This time, it is you that shall be destroyed!"

"It's over, Protomon!" shouted Seraphimon as he lunged forward.

The duo then found themselves locked in a knockdown drag-out bout. The two massive forces clashed with insane amounts of power, bolting all over the place, releasing waves of energy with each hit scored. They each struck with incredibly rapid and equally powerful punches and kicks. Dodging, punching, and flying at each other, they seemed able to go on forever. The pressure mounting with each blow. Seraphimon landed for an instant on one of the panels as Protomon came right at him. Seraphimon instantly pushed off, causing Protomon's punch to miss him and instead tear the panel apart. Seraphimon tried to elbow Protomon in the back, only to have Protomon vanish and reappear behind him and throw a punch, which Seraphimon blocked with his gauntlet-clad hand. Seraphimon instantly moved in with a punch of his own, only to have Protomon catch it in his free hand. Seraphimon retaliated by grabbing a firm hold on Protomon's other hand, which was still pressed against his forearm. Now facing each other, they each pressed against the other with incredible force. Acting quickly, Seraphimon rammed his plated forehead into the center of Protomon's face, stunning the mighty digimon. Seraphimon took advantage of Protomon's condition by firing his Seven Heavens at the beast. Protomon tried to dodge out of the way, but he wasn't quite fast enough. One of the beams struck him under the left pectoral, shredding away a circular region of his side and leaving a severe wound. Protomon regained his composure and pushed himself away from Seraphimon to regenerate. When he tried though, it quickly became apparent that the wound was healing very slowly, if at all.

"Looks like I've found a weakness…" said Seraphimon.

Protomon's eyes flared as Seraphimon charged another Seven Heavens. He unleashed his attack and the seven bolts headed right for Protomon, when a sudden look of pleasure overcame the evil digimon's face. A strange red light seemed to emanate from every pour on Protomon's skin. With a terrible shout, Protomon released the crimson energy from his body, which extended outward in a great sphere. When the bolts from the Seven Heavens encountered this technique, they immediately soared off course, swerving back towards Seraphimon. Seraphimon flew upwards to avoid his own attack, only to be kneed in the back by Protomon. Seraphimon quickly recovered and spun around, only to receive a punch to the chest that knocked him back into another panel. T.K. was knocked from Seraphimon's back when he hit and was catapulted through the air before coming to a rest a few panels away. Seraphimon slowly opened his eyes, looking up at Protomon. The beast was shaking violently, seeming to move in and out of phase with the world around him as his eyes once again shone a fearsome red. His sword was sheathed in his sash and his arms were flexed at his sides. Ribbons of reddish energy began to crawl across his body, creating a glow about him that was very unsettling. Slowly, these ribbons of energy began to migrate towards his hands, collecting as intense points of light in each palm. Seraphimon desperately pealed his body from the panel, leaving a large indenture in it. He launched himself at Protomon, but he was too late. Protomon's chest heaved forward just before he brought his hands swinging together, colliding with enough force to level a building. The sudden combination of the energy that had collected in the palms of his hands caused an explosive release of power. In a mostly white beam with a reddish tinge to it, Protomon fired his ultimate attack: the Light of Judgement. The beam was about six feet in diameter and flowed forth from Protomon's hands with such force and grandeur that it appeared practically godlike in its power. The attack crushed Seraphimon beneath it, taking him out of the fight for good.

The situation had become desperate. Protomon chuckled cruelly as he looked over the vengeance he had wrought on the DigiDestined, unaware that Metaldracomon was slowly bringing his right arm to bear on him. In one last release of power, Metaldracomon fired his Giga Flare on Protomon, but Protomon sensed the approaching attack and blocked against it with his thick left arm. With a look of utter disdain, Protomon lobbed a Protolance at Metaldracomon, hitting him with enough force to drain his energy and reduce him to his Rookie form.

While Protomon continued his venomous laughter, Tai and Matt had managed to situate themselves atop Wargreymon and Metalgarurumon, who were finally ready to go back into the fray. The situation looked grim. All of the other digimon had been rendered incapable of resisting Protomon, while he had barely hurt. Granted, his fight with Magnadramon and Seraphimon had slowed him down a great deal, but he was still very much alive.

"How can we beat this guy?" asked Matt.

"Whenever we attack, he just heals himself," said Wargreymon.

"Don't lose faith!" shouted Seraphimon from where he lay. "Protomon is not as invincible as he seems!"

"How do you mean?" shouted Tai back.

"Protomon's healing ability comes from the virus that has infected his body!" shouted the very weak Seraphimon. "I believe it to be the same virus that infected Diaboromon and Chocomon."

"No doubt about it!" shouted Antylamon. "That is the very same virus that held me!"

"So how is that good news?!" shouted Metalgarurumon.

"My attack seems to have damaged the virus!" shouted Seraphimon. "I don't believe it will be able to repair any further damage dealt to it!"

"That's all I needed to know…" said Tai with a confident smile.

"Let's teach Protomon a lesson…" said Matt as he lifted his digivice into the air.

Wargreymon and Metalgarurumon started growing much larger as they gave off radiant energy. When they had more than doubled in size, their bodies turned into a warm, golden light, which gathered in their helmets. From those helmets sprang arms, and a body formed out of the brilliant energy of the combined crests that had gathered around them. Wargreymon and Metalgarurumon had once again combined to create the ultimate warrior: Omnimon.

"Now there's no stopping us," said Tai from Omnimon's left shoulder.

"Your time has come, Protomon!" shouted Matt from Omnimon's right shoulder.

Omnimon narrowed his eyes, glaring up at Protomon. Protomon looked down on him, surprised yet not fearful of this new form. Omnimon threw himself into the air, striking Protomon with a right hook. The very air seemed to shake at the force of the blow, which threw Protomon back a great deal. Protomon stopped himself quickly and once again drew his Gallant Sword. He lunged at Omnimon. Omnimon blocked Protomon's slash with his left arm before pushing the much smaller digimon away and readying his Transcended Sword for battle. Omnimon made a broad slice at Protomon, but the nimble digimon dodged it with ease. Omnimon continued to hack and slash, but Protomon just kept on dodging until he was backed up against a panel. Protomon lobbed another Protolance at Omnimon, but Omnimon was able to dodge it. This was only a distraction though, as Protomon once again prepared to fire his Light of Judgement. Just before he could fire it though, a blast of flame struck him from the side. He was undamaged, but he instinctively looked to see who it was. It turned out to be the extremely exhausted Garudamon, but that quickly lost any meaning to Protomon as he realized the huge mistake he had just made. Protomon swiped his head back to the front just in time to see Omnimon's huge sword coming at him with frightful speed. Protomon shifted his footing to leap away, but it was too late for him. An instant later, Omnimon's sword sliced through Protomon, dividing him vertically down the middle and pinning his remains to the large, blue, glowing panel.


	18. The Darkest Hour

[A/N: Well we're getting close to the end. I expect there to be only a few more sections after this one, but keep in mind that this is merely the beginning. And BTW, I know I've been using the word "panel" a lot in these past few sections, but synonyms for it are hard to come by. Don't forget to stop by www.angelfire.com/anime3/mnemx9/Arek.html to see my pics. Well now that I've wasted a few seconds of your time, I feel we'd better get back to the story.]

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"We… we did it," said Tai.

"I can't believe it," said Matt. "I just can't believe it."

"Rest in peace, Protomon," said Omnimon.

Omnimon tugged his sword free of the panel, leaving Protomon's remains pinned against the wall. With an exhausted sigh, Omnimon let his sword drop at his side. He turned slowly around, facing all of the others, who now all had wide grins spread across their faces. One by one, a wave of happiness swept over each of them, resulting in a great deal of laughing and hollering. There were warm hugs shared all around, and the mood was purely jovial.

"I knew you guys had what it took to do the job!" shouted Willis.

"I guess that guy just didn't know who he was dealing with," grinned Tai.

"He wasn't THAT tough," said Matt coolly. "He was too confident for his own good."

But suddenly, the lighthearted atmosphere was cut short by a low, rumbling sound from behind Omnimon. It wasn't quite audible. If anything, it was really more of a feeling of uneasiness. Slowly, everyone turned to look at Protomon's body. Within his darkened eyes could be seen the faintest glimmer of a red light. The sound slowly increased in volume. It was very, very inhuman, completely foreign to anything the DigiDestined could recognize. It was like the low moans of a thousand beings. The sheer power that lay within the sounds seemed to pierce the minds and hearts of all whom heard them, rendering them immobile. Gradually, more sounds could be heard. Something like a low grumbling became audible in the background noise. It too was unlike anything the DigiDestined had ever heard. It sounded almost as though it were underwater, being slow to build and very… organic. As the volume continued to grow, the light in Protomon's eyes intensified. The deadly gaze of Protomon in conjunction with the terrible sound he was emanating was almost too much to bear, and yet none could turn from it. His moans continued to grow louder, and soon a sound that was somewhere between a scream and a roar appeared. Much like the other sounds, it was infuriated, vindictive, and very unnatural. Shortly thereafter, another roar joined in, louder, more forceful, and more terrifying than the first. The entire battlefield quaked as the power of the sound increased. Very soon, the sound had grown to nearly deafening levels as Protomon's eyes seethed with a burning light so fiendish that it seemed to scorch the DigiDestined at the very core of their being, shredding any confidence they had left.

"I… CAN… NEVER… DIE!" said the enraged voice of Protomon.

Suddenly, a strand of flesh shot from on of the halves of his body to the other and latched on. Then, another strand did the same. Then another, and another. Soon, the space that separated the two parts of Protomon's body were filled with strands of flesh so numerous and so strong that they began to actually pull him back together. Omnimon, struggling with all his might against the terrifying cries that echoed in his head, jerkily began to lift his right arm. Protomon's two halves were pulled back together. Omnimon lifted his arm cannon right up to Protomon. The wound through Protomon healed completely, removing any trace of the damage done as a wave of energy swam from his eyes. Omnimon expelled his cannon from his right arm and got ready to fire. Protomon flexed his muscles, feeling the restored strength of his body. Omnimon shut his eyes tight as he unleashed his Supreme Cannon at dangerously close range to Protomon. The huge explosion instantly tore through most of the panels in the area, creating a large gap in the wall of the battlefield. The wave hit Omnimon a moment later, launching him backward with incredible force. In less than a second, Omnimon had crossed the entire battlefield, slamming into the wall opposite the one he had just obliterated.

Time seemed to pass very slowly. For a few minutes everything seemed hazy. Everything was perfectly calm, infinitely still. A sound like a cold wind seemed to blow over the countless panels surrounding the region of space. Distant grumbling seemed to waft through the air. After what had seemed like an eternity, Omnimon began to lift himself up, still dazed from the attack.

"Are you guys alright?" asked Tai.

"Couldn't be better," said Matt with a cough.

"So tired…" said Omnimon groggily. "What happened?"

"I think… we got him," said Tai, looking over the room for signs of Protomon.

"I can't see him anywhere," said Matt.

"What… what was that sound he was giving off?" asked Omnimon.

"I don't know," responded Matt. "I just hope I never have to hear it again."

"Ditto," remarked Tai.

Suddenly, a feeling of immense coldness ran through the DigiDestined and their digimon,

"I already warned you…" said the voice of Protomon, which seemed to come from every angle. "I am incapable of dying."

"Th-there's just no way…!" said Tai.

Roughly twenty feet in front of Omnimon's face, a red spark of light pierced through the darkness, briefly illuminating a figure there. A few seconds later there was another spark. Then another… and then another. Within a matter of seconds it was like a lightning storm, lighting up the fearsome body of Protomon, who had wrapped himself in darkness to escape detection.

"You… creatures…" said Protomon. "You would have the gall to turn my own children against me? I, who was the one who created this world, am now forced to fight the fruit of my labor? You humans are an infestation. I will eliminate you, and those who would cooperate with you!"

A surge of energy shot from Protomon's body, removing the darkness that surrounded him and revealing the extent to which he had been damaged. A broad slice of flesh had been taken out of Protomon's right jaw, cutting right down to the bone. Severe lacerations ran up and down his arms, and his cape had been torn to ribbons. There was a gash in his thick, cranial plating and a deep cut across his torso, and yet despite all of this, Protomon exhibited no sign of discomfort.

"It was only a matter of time," said Protomon. "I knew I would find a body deserving of me. It was just a matter of finding the right one. Diaboromon… Kerpymon… they were hardly suiting for one of my greatness. In this body I have found what I have sought. Within this body, I am ready to initiate the final phase of the grand scheme!"

"It… it's the virus," said Antylamon. "He's talking to us directly."

"What is this grand scheme of yours?!" demanded Davis.

"Oh, it's not mine," said the virus that inhabited Protomon. "On the contrary, I am just a player in it. The force that devised it, the force that set it all into motion before you even came to the Digital World, the force that awaits the day when the plan is complete is beyond even one such as I. I sincerely doubt you have the facilities necessary to even begin to comprehend the grandeur of such a plan."

"Try me," said Izzy, hoping to buy a little time.

"I'm afraid I'm not as foolish as you seem to think I am," said Protomon, now back in control of his own body. "Once you are all eliminated, nothing will be able to impede my success. It's over!"

Protomon drew his sword and lifted it over his head, ready to bring it slicing down through Omnimon. Just as he was about to swing though, he felt someone grab his hand from behind. It was Antylamon, a fact that Protomon realized just before getting a punch to the face. The blow knocked him back and ripped his weapon from his hand. Protomon managed to bring himself to a stop, but only long enough to be rammed into by Rapidmon and Aquilamon together. Stunned but nowhere near out of the fight, Protomon tried to retaliate, but his injuries had begun to take their toll. He wasn't quick enough to avoid a powerful blow from Ankylomon's Tail Hammer, or Zudomon's Vulcan's Hammer for that matter. Now firmly planted into another panel, Protomon reopened his eyes just in time to see a barrage of attacks heading his way. Rapidmon's Miracle Missiles, Aquilamon's Blast Rings, Seadramon's Ice Blast, Mega Kabuterimon's Horn Buster, Zudomon's Vulcan's Hammer, Lillymon's Flower Cannon, and Garudamon's Wing Blade all closed on him with amazing rapidity. Knowing that such an assault could prove dangerous, Protomon quit playing games. He threw himself into the air, allowing the attacks to strike the panel behind him. In a dramatic progression of fully powered kicks and punches, Protomon crushed his enemies one by one. He broke bones, snapped tendons, cracked armor, and whatever else he could think of to rid himself of his enemies once and for all. After taking down Atylamon with a knee to the chin and an elbow to the spine, Protomon reacquired his sword, quickly sheathing it in his sash.

"You've been judged…!" said Protomon, turning to Omnimon again.

Omnimon tried desperately to get up, but he didn't stand a chance. Protomon was once again charging his Light of Judgement attack. Waves of power surged up around him as red pulsating points of light formed in his outstretched hands. Omnimon made one final push towards Protomon, but he was too late. Protomon slammed his wrists together and fired his attack with intent to kill. So much power had been packed into the technique that it completely engulfed Omnimon, shredding his armor and weapons. Matt and Tai tried to cover themselves as best as they could, but they too could feel the effects of the attack, albeit at a much lower level. Chunks of flying debris sliced through the air, whizzing past Matt and Tai. One piece of metal, roughly a square foot of it, flew from Omnimon's sword and came right at Matt's head. He tried to duck, but it caught him above the right ear, cutting a gash six inches across. Matt grabbed to side of his head, feeling the warm blood trickle down between his fingers, and at that instant he knew that he had experienced that very same pain somewhere before. Finally, after Omnimon was crushed to within an inch of his life, Protomon relented. Omnimon lay against a group of barely functioning panels, struggling to breathe. Protomon remained floating there amidst the devastation he had wrought. It still seemed as though the massive injuries he had sustained offered no interest or discomfort to him. Each and every one of his digimon foes had been maimed, unable to offer any further resistance. His victory was complete.

"Only now in the final hour do you realize how truly weak you are…" said Protomon. "I have judged you, and you are unworthy of death at the hands of a god."

"You… you're letting us live?" asked Joe.

"Hardly," scoffed Protomon. "You see, the battle we have waged here has had a strong impact on this web site. It is in the early stages of crashing at this very moment, and it will not last more than twenty minutes before it and everything in it are destroyed. Of course, that will not include me. For you see, I will be elsewhere on the Internet, from which I can access all worlds through this conduit that humans have been kind enough to supply me with. There can be no stopping me now. I have won!"

And with that, Protomon turned to face the nearest wall. With the wave of his hand the paneling began to swirl about in a circular pattern, quickly opening a gateway to somewhere else. With a vile laugh, Protomon traversed the gateway, heading off to another place on the Internet from which he could begin the systematic destruction of any world of his choosing.

Time passed. The pain many of the digimon could feel slowly grew numb as exhaustion overtook them. Matt, at the point of despair, began to rummage through his pocket, from which he quickly pulled his old harmonica.

"Heh…" laughed Matt to himself. "I brought this along thinking it might be a good luck charm. I guess that didn't exactly work out."

"You… you still have it?" asked Omnimon weakly. "Could you play it again for me? You know, for old times sake."

"Anything you want buddy," said Matt as he brought the instrument to his lips."

The sullen tune from Matt's harmonica wafted slowly through the air. The morose tone seemed to perfectly reflect the emotions everyone was feeling at that very moment. It seemed an eternity before anyone moved.

"Well, I guess Gennai's prophecy of doom was true after all," said T.K.

"To Hell with the prophecy," said Jack. "We can still win yet. Don't you think so Stormdramon?"

"I… I don't think so Jack," said Stormdramon. "I'm too exhausted to fight, and all of the others are too badly injured."

"There is still a slim chance," grunted Omnimon. "Protomon is… more damaged than he lets on. His reaction time and strength have been drastically reduced."

"But there's no one to fight anymore," groaned Imperialdramon.

"Oh come on," said Jack. "Someone must be able to fight. What about Magnadramon?"

All eyes turned to Magnadramon and Kari. Both had regained consciousness but were clearly unfit to return to battle.

"I'm afraid not," said Kari.

"Stormdramon, you are the only choice," said Magnadramon.

"Me?!" asked the surprised little digimon. "Why me? I'm not strong enough!"

"We don't have a whole lot of opptions here," called Mimi from where Lillymon lay. "You're the only one who isn't too hurt to fight."

"She's got a point," said Jack. "Come on buddy, I know we can do this."

"I can't face him again," said Stormdramon. "I… I'm scared. There, are you happy now?! You got me to admit that I'm scared!"

"We're all scared," said Davis. "But if we believe in each other, then being afraid doesn't matter anymore. I believe you can do it Stormdramon."

"Me too," said Ken reassuringly.

"And me," said Cody.

"Don't forget about us," said T.K. and Kari.

"And us!" said Joe and Izzy.

"We all believe in you Stormdramon!" said Tai.

"Come on buddy," whispered Jack. "Whad'ya say? Wanna' save the world?"

"…Yeah," said Stormdramon. "Let's finish this!"

One by one, each digimon in the room except Stormdramon began to radiate a light that reflected the color of their crests. Each digimon then de-digivolved to their In-Training forms, releasing all of their stored energy in streams of light, which formed a spiraling rainbow pattern before converging all at once in Jack's digivice, causing it to glow with the combined power of all the crests and shake violently.

"We're counting on you guys," said Tai.

"Teach that guy a lesson!" said Koromon.

"Make sure he can't hurt anyone else," said Matt as he continued to coddle his bloody wound.

"Don't worry guys," said Jack. "We'll be back in time for supper."

"Ready?" asked Stormdramon.

"Anytime you are," said Jack.

"We're off then!" said Stormdramon, gripping Jack close to him.

Together, the two of them pushed off, heading for the open passage left behind by Protomon. Travelling through cyberspace was one of the most intense rides of Jack's life. The intense speed and lack of gravity made it wilder than any roller coaster, and travelling between the real and digital worlds couldn't begin to compare to the rush he felt. Then, as quickly as it had started, all was still again. They fell out into another web site, which had been rearranged by Protomon much like the previous one had been, with a black sky and hundreds of glowing panels. And of course, in the very center of it all, rested Protomon. He glared at the new arrivals disdainfully.

"I should have known you would refuse to accept the inevitable," said Protomon. "You humans are as stubborn as you are foolish. I would have expected better from you Stormdramon, but living with humans clearly takes its toll. You are an abomination in my eyes. I shall enjoy ridding my world of you."

"We're not going to be afraid of you anymore, Protomon," said Jack. "We won't let you hurt anyone else. Even if it means killing you, we will stop this."

"Did I just hear you threaten to kill me?!" demanded Protomon. "Such an insignificant creature as you would dare to challenge a god?! This is absurd!"

"There's too much riding on us!" said Stormdramon.

"We can't afford to lose!" said Jack.

"We're here to fight for all of them!" said Stormdramon.

"Courage, friendship, love, sincerity, reliability, knowledge, kindness, miracles, destiny, honor, light, and hope!" said Jack.

"With the help of those forces, we can't lose!" said Stormdramon.

"This is it!" shouted Jack and Stormdramon together.

Jack held his digivice up high over his head. The dull white glow surrounding it suddenly intensified, swallowing both Jack and Stormdramon within its field of radiance.

From within the glowing sphere, a voice could be heard saying: "Stormdramon… warp digivolve to…!"


	19. Let's Save the World...

The sound was like being within the very core of a massive storm.  Winds raged around the glowing mass as Protomon shielded his eyes.  The surging field of energy was so powerful that many of the panels around the room spontaneously shattered from the stress of it.  Slowly, the light began to dim, and Protomon could make out the figure within.  It was Stormdramon, but his muscles were swelling, his hair stood on end, and his eyes were solid white.  Then, a burst of light was sent out.  When Protomon had refocused, he saw that Stormdramon had digivolved to Dracomon.  There was another burst of light, which resulted in his transformation to Metaldracomon.

"No…" grumbled Protomon.  "NO!!!  Damn that prophecy!"

There was one last surge of light, ten times as powerful as any that came before it.  Accompanying the surge of light was a gust of wind so strong that it knocked Protomon back over twenty yards.  Bolts of electrical energy splintered off the sphere of light, raking across and shredding more panels.  Protomon fought against the powerful energy that surged all around him, staring deep into the searing light.  Within, there stood a figure very much like Dracomon.  He looked to be in great pain, his head thrown back and his arms and legs fully flexed.  Then, the creature began to change.  His muscles bulged from his arms, legs and chest.  His hair grew longer, standing up on end.  The bones in his forearms grew thicker, creating protective plating over the top portions.  His huge, powerful tail whipped about ferociously as the pigmentation in his skin shifted from a blue to a grayish-silver.  His wings grew larger and more powerful as long, thick, sharp bones pierced through the outermost tips.  His chest and the underside of his tail became completely white in coloration as his eyes came to life, going from gray to a chilling shade of cold green that almost appeared to glow.  His claws grew longer and deadlier as he slowly brought his face forward again, completely overcoming the pain.  His long, fearsome teeth were bared in what appeared to almost be a grin.  He wasn't done yet though, as a pair of glowing fields of light appeared over the bony part of his wings in the section between where they jutted from his back and where the first joint lay.  These fields solidified into armor made of the purest chrome digizoid.  The process repeated again over his left shoulder, where a double shoulder pad also made of the rare metal formed.  Also formed were a pair of thick, metallic hip guards with a third metal plate hanging in between with the Crest of Honor emblazoned upon it.  Leg guards similar to those worn by Wargreymon appeared over his lower legs.  The metal was also chrome digizoid, and the padded sections over his shins were blue.  A striking blue sash formed, hanging down across his chest and back from his shoulder pad and wrapping around his waist several times before being tied off with the ends being allowed to dangle just above his knee.  Around his elbows were leather straps, much like the ones worn by Flamedramon.  Finally, a heavy, chrome digizoid mask that appeared over his face, topping it all off.  It bore a certain similarity to Wargreymon's mask, but it was more slender, elongated, and the horns swooped towards the back rather than off to the sides.  His overall height had more than doubled from his digivolution, and he looked to be about as powerful as any digimon Jack had ever seen.

"Hear me, Protomon!" shouted the new digimon, his commanding voice echoing throughout the battlefield.  "I am the Mega form of Stormdramon!  I am the King of the Dragons and guardian of the Crest of Honor.  With my Nail Wing and Gaea Flare attacks, I will stop your evil and free the Digital World from your influence!  I… AM… BAHADRAMON!!!"

"He's all that and a bag of chips!" said Jack from atop Bahadramon's back.

"Your speeches may work on some, Bahadramon…" said Protomon with a vile glare.  "But not me.  I for one find that actions speak much louder than words!"

"I will win this," said Bahadramon.  "You might be the strongest digimon ever, but the odds are still stacked in my favor."

"And how do you come to that conclusion?" asked Protomon snidely.

"Simple," said Bahadramon.  "I'm at the best I've ever been, and I've been infused with the strength of all the crests.  You on the other hand have been dramatically weakened.  After so much time in oblivion, that body of yours has decayed a great deal.  Plus, the regenerative abilities of your virus have been crippled.  Finally, the most damning stroke against you is yourself.  I can sense the truth in you, in your fighting style.  Somewhere, a piece of your mind has escaped corruption.  That small piece of your mind that remains true has sealed away the bulk of your power."

"You… you lie!" said Protomon.

"Even you know what has happened," said Bahadramon.  "You just can't admit it."

"I will beat you!" said Protomon.  "And what's more, the whole world can watch!"

Protomon snapped his fingers and the glow of each and every one of the panels in the room intensified.  Instantly, every TV, computer, and anything else electronic that can display and image in the entire human world began to broadcast live coverage of the ensuing fight.  Even the panels at the last site, where all the other DigiDestined remained, began transmitting images of the scene as it unfolded.

"I can't wait to see the look on your face when you lose to us in front of the whole world," said Jack confidently.

"Silence you impudent fool!" screamed Protomon.  "I can never be beaten in this beautiful new body!  I have finally become a GOD!  I will never let you take that from me!!!"

Protomon lunged forward with a terrible scream as he drew his Gallant Sword.  Protomon was upon Bahadramon in an instant.  He thrust his sword forward with awesome speed and determination, but Bahadramon proved himself even faster, swiveling out of the sword's path in the blink of an eye.  Before Protomon could pull his sword back, Bahadramon kneed him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him.  The attack was immediately followed up by a savage punch to the face, which sent Protomon crashing back into a panel.  Bahadramon was about to pursue when Protomon launched himself back into the air, seemingly undamaged by the attack.  With a vengeful scream, Protomon began lobbing Protolances at Bahadramon left and right.  Bahadramon ducked and dodged wildly, narrowly escaping Protomon's assault.  He was so preoccupied with dodging the attacks that he failed to notice Protomon coming in with extreme rapidity.  Protomon lifted his sword and swung for Bahadramon's neck.  Bahadramon spied the attack just in time, raising his left arm to block.  The blade cut deep into Bahadramon's arm, but not far enough.  Undeterred, Protomon slammed his free hand into Bahadramon's face.  The attack knocked Bahadramon's head back and created a large crack in his mask.  Protomon immediately followed the punch with a brutal kick to the stomach, which catapulted Bahadramon back towards another panel.  Not wasting any time, Protomon launched a set of three Protolances in rapid succession on a direct course for Bahadramon.  With the imminent danger approaching, Bahadramon spun around to face the panel, stretching his right claw out ahead of him and flattening his wings against his back.  With incredible speed, he dug his claw into the panel when he reached it and used it to flip himself up to the panel above, releasing the panel just as the Protolances obliterated it.

Bahadramon rebounded instantly, flying at Protomon with rage in his eyes.  As he approached, Bahadramon brought his legs, arms, and tail forward in a point.  He then slapped his wings together in front of him and stiffened them around his other appendages.  The deadly bones protruding from the outermost tips form a point capable of drilling through almost anything.

"Nail Wing!" shouted Bahadramon, rapidly accelerating.

Protomon stared at the oncoming assault with his arms taut at his sides and his sword tucked away in his sash.  Bahadramon dove at Protomon with his Nail Wing attack, but with flawless timing, Protomon wrapped his arms around the tips of Bahadramon's wings.  The vicious bone tips came within inches of piercing Protomon's stomach.  Both Jeff and Bahadramon looked down in shock as Protomon tightened his hold before flinging Bahadramon over his shoulder with surreal force.  As Bahadramon fell back toward another group of panels he saw Protomon charging up another Protolance.  Protomon fired and his attack headed forth with deadly speed and accuracy, and there was no way for Bahadramon to dodge.  With all his strength, Bahadramon flapped his wings once, creating a very powerful gust of wind.  As soon as the Protolance was struck by Bahadramon's technique it dispersed harmlessly.  Bahadramon landed hard on a panel, which cracked under his weight.

"He's… *pant*… he's too… *wheeze*…  too strong," said Bahadramon as he gasped for air with beads of sweat running down his body.

"Jeez Bahadramon," said Jack.  "Calm down, I don't want you to start to rust.  Besides, look at Protomon.  He's frustrated.  With the state he's in, he'll screw up."

"You sure?" asked Bahadramon beginning to catch his breath.

"Positive," said Jack.  "Come on, everyone believes that you can do this.  Are we gonna' let 'em down?"

"No way," grinned Bahadramon.

"That's the spirit!" said Jack.  "Come on, let's tear this guy apart!"

With a terrifying scream, Bahadramon lunged forward.  Upon seeing Bahadramon's approach, Protomon lifted his sword to strike.  When Bahadramon had almost reached him, Protomon began to slice down on him, but he quickly found his attack stopped in its tracks when Bahadramon caught both arms by the wrists, holding Protomon's arms still.  Not giving Protomon a second, Bahadramon slammed his armored muzzle into Protomon's forehead, right between the eyes.  The attack clearly broke something, as blood began to spill from the wound.  A surge of power from Protomon forced Bahadramon to release him.  Protomon retaliated against Bahadramon with a kick to his rib cage, but Bahadramon withstood it.  Bahadramon elbowed Protomon in the chest, but Protomon responded by yanking Bahadramon's arm with such force that it was very nearly dislocated.  Bahadramon quickly wrapped his powerful tail around Protomon's waist and dragged him in very close.  Bahadramon swiftly bared his teeth, sinking his razor-like fangs deep into Protomon's neck.  Protomon shoved Bahadramon away, removing a good chunk of his own flesh in the process.  Though the attack clearly burned, Protomon was still as vicious as ever, digging his claws into Bahadramon's torso.  Bahadramon cried out in pain.  Recovering quickly though, Bahadramon used his tail again, this time around Protomon's neck.  Squeezing ever tighter, it seemed that Bahadramon might very well crush Protomon's neck.  Of course, the claws in Bahadramon's chest had slowed him down a great deal, and continued to sap his strength.  Just when it seemed neither opponent could withstand another second of this torture, they broke away from each other.  Bahadramon gripped his chest in agony while Protomon turned his neck from side to side, hearing the bones grinding and snapping back into place.

Protomon slowly drew his sword, allowing it to glint in the dim lighting.  Bahadramon got into his fighting stance with his claws poised to strike.  His tail twitched nervously.

"Go!" said Protomon.

What happened next occurred so quickly that only Bahadramon and Protomon could tell exactly what transpired.  One thing was certain though.  Bahadramon had caught the Gallant Sword by the blade in his left hand, which was now severely cut.  His right hand had seized Protomon's left shoulder and has digging in.  Protomon had used his knee to block a kick from Bahadramon, while Bahadramon's tail had seized Protomon's free leg by the ankle.  Jack looked on with a stunned expression on his face as Protomon and Bahadramon stared into each other's eyes, glaring vindictively.  They remained in that position for a few more seconds, absolutely frozen, each pondering what the other would do.  Protomon's hellish red eyes and Bahadramon's cold green eyes penetrated into each other, each probing for what the other was thinking.  Then there was another flurry of speed.  Protomon slammed his right elbow directly into the main nerve in Bahadramon's left arm.  At the very same instant, Bahadramon threw the palm of his right hand at Protomon's Gallant Blade, shattering the weapon into a million pieces.  Protomon shoved Bahadramon away with his knee while Bahadramon used his tail to flip Protomon head-over-heels.  Once again separated, they retreated to opposite ends of the battlefield.

Bahadramon landed on a panel, staring at Protomon.  His left arm hung limply at his side and his body was covered from head-to-toe in brutal cuts, scrapes, bruises, and whatever other damage Protomon had managed to inflict.  If anything, Protomon looked even worse off.  Savage wounds that would have killed any normal digimon long ago had ravaged Protomon's body.  Neither opponent was in any shape to continue the fight for much longer and they both knew it.

Ready for one last decisive charge, Bahadramon took flight again on a course to face Protomon and his destiny.  Protomon, though, remained motionless.  Bahadramon traversed over half the battlefield in only a few seconds.  That's when he noticed a fiery mist begin to wrap about Protomon, rising into the air like thick smoke.  Bahadramon quickly brought himself to a stop, staring wide-eyed at his foe.  Protomon almost appeared to be smirking as he lifted his arms out at his sides, a point of demonic red light in each of them.  Every panel in the entire area began to tremble violently as Protomon poured every ounce of his strength into the building attack.  As the tremors grew in intensity, panels simply exploded from the incredible forces that had begun to fill the entire room.  There was no escaping the approaching attack.  When Protomon had clearly maxed out the strength of the attack, he slammed his wrists together and unleashed the full ferocity of his Light of Judgement.  Bahadramon reacted just in time, folding his huge wings in front of himself to protect both Jack and himself.  A number of streams from the attack slid off Bahadramon's wings, flowing past him and taking out entire sections of panels.  Most of the energy though was directed into Bahadramon as pure force.  He was thrown backward by the attack and slammed back into the panel that he had taken off from just seconds earlier.  Protomon's attack continued to burn at Bahadramon's flesh.  Occasional streams of light would find a way past his defenses, searing everything they touched.  Despite his resistance, it was doubtful that Bahadramon would be able to withstand much more.  Already there were large patches of very red flesh on his wings that would be completely burned away in a matter of seconds.

"No…" said Jack, shutting his eyes tight and feeling tears burn his eyes.  "It can't end like this…!"

A second later, the attack had penetrated Bahadramon's wings.  All seemed completely silent, hardly what Jack had imagined death to sound like.  After a few seconds, he peaked out from under his eyelids.  He was astonished to see streams of light that had penetrated Bahadramon's wings had in fact been halted, seemingly just cutting off about a foot in front of Bahadramon's chest.  It was almost miraculous.  Then Jack noticed that his digivice was beeping like crazy.  He held it in his hand.  The thing was shaking madly and glowing.  Jack could just barely make out an energy bubble that seemed to be blocking Protomon's attack.

"It… the digivice…" mumbled Jack.

Without another word, he held it out in front of him.  He concentrated with all his might and watched as the energy bubble quickly began to expand, pushing Protomon's attack back.  After a few moments, Bahadramon was able to once again open his wings.  He and Jack watched as Protomon tried to overpower the rapidly expanding energy field.  It was a fruitless effort and the strange power from Jack's digivice overtook even Protomon's powerful attack.  Protomon collapsed in exhaustion.

Bahadramon spread his once proud, now tattered wings out before him.  Slowly, he returned to the air, looking down on Protomon as Jack clipped his digivice, which had overloaded each and every circuit within it, back onto his belt.  An eerie calm fell over the entire battlefield.

"You… will never… win," said Protomon.

"You will die for your crimes," said Bahadramon.  "I will see to that myself."

"You might kill me," said Protomon.  "But you can never stop what has been started here today.  By killing me you will only delay the inevitable.  The grand scheme can never be stopped until it reaches fruition."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," said Bahadramon, stiffening his entire body.

Bahadramon's whole body began to emanate a brilliant white aura.  He opened his powerful jaw as his fingers twitched anxiously.  A sphere of energy began to form in front of his open mouth.  The center of it was a point of immensely bright, white light while a translucent, violet bubble floated around it.  Beyond that, small, yellowish blobs of energy whipped around the exterior, casting shadows on Bahadramon.  The energy collecting in front of Bahadramon continued to expand until the radius of the sphere was roughly three feet, at which point it all suddenly began to emit a powerful, bluish light that basked the entire room in its glow.

"GAEA FLARE!!!" screamed Bahadramon.

The smaller balls of energy were all thrown off in a long, horizontal line.  Like a great wave of energy, the smaller attacks traveled towards Protomon in a shape that looked like a giant boomerang from overhead.  When the attacks reached Protomon, not only did they devastate him, but also a line of panels the length of a football field in either direction.  That's when Bahadramon fired the trump card.  He lunged forward and fired the main body of his attack.  A stream of violet energy headed by the rapidly expanding point of white light was sent on a crash course for Protomon.  It connected a few seconds later, instantly incinerating everything within a hundred yards in a stunning white light.  The light continued to rapidly expand, filling every last corner of the battlefield.

Back at the previous web-site, where the other DigiDestined and their digimon were, there was a great deal of celebration.  T.K., overcome with emotion as he sat next to Kari, leaned over, took her in his arms, and kissed her passionately.  Kari, whether she was too stunned to do anything or was having too much of a good time, had no intention of stopping him.  Davis of course was looking on in a jealous rage.  It was finally over; Protomon was defeated.  The world was safe once again.  But it quickly became perfectly clear that the DigiDestined weren't out of the woods yet when suddenly, the panels all went black and began to explode.

"Look out guys!" said Izzy as a shard of paneling whizzed past his head.  "This web-site is crashing!  We've got to get out of here!"

No sooner had he said this than a warm, glowing light appeared in the middle of the battlefield.  Not having any other options of how to escape, they all headed for it as quickly as they could.  Things kept getting worse as they entered it one by one.  The explosions intensified and all but Tai and Koromon had made it out when a huge explosion behind him knocked Tai out cold.


	20. The Day After

Day 6 

The brilliant light of mid-morning filtered in through Tai's bedroom window as he lay in bed.  A gentle breeze wafted through the open window, tickling his exposed flesh.

"Huh?  What?" asked Tai groggily.  "I'm… home?  Was it all a dream?  What happened?"

Sitting up, Tai was gripped by a sudden pain in his chest.

"Urgh!" grunted Tai, quickly lying down again.  "Oh man, that hurt a lot.  I guess it all really happened after all.  It feels like I broke a few ribs."

Tai looked down at his body.  His chest was wrapped in bandages and his pants looked pretty tattered.  All things considered though, he came out of the fight pretty good.

"Hey, wait a minute," said Tai.  "Where's Koromon?  Koromon!"

Tai quickly got out of bed and put on a clean shirt, which he left unbuttoned.  As he opened his bedroom door and stepped out into the living room he saw Matt, Sora, Joe, Mimi, Davis, Cody, Yolei, Michael, and Willis all mingling about, not doing much.  They were all bandaged to varying degrees.

"Good to see you up and about again," said Matt, who had thick bandages over his head.

"Nice hat," joked Tai.

"Seventeen stitches," said Matt.  "I just hope it doesn't mess up my hair too much."

"Where's Koromon?" asked Tai.

"Relax Tai," said Koromon, who was also heavily bandaged, like all the other digimon.  "I'm over here on the couch."

"Oh Koromon you're still here!" said the overjoyed Tai.  "You're alright!"

Tai quickly went over and gave Koromon a big hug, which both of them soon regretted.

Groaning in pain, Tai said, "Maybe 'alright' is stretching it a bit."

"You said it," said Koromon.

The others all shared a quick laugh.

"I can't believe we actually did it," said Tai.  "We actually beat Protomon.  Where are Jack and Stormdramon?  I need to thank them."

An awkward silence fell over the room.  Izzy and Ken stepped out of the study to see what was going on.

"Umm… They never came back," said Matt hesitantly.  "We lost track of them after Bahadramon used his Gaea Flare attack."

"What?" asked Tai in a state of shock.  "Are you sure he didn't appear somewhere else?  Maybe the DigiWorld?!"

"Nope," said Izzy.  "We tried that, but we couldn't pick up his digivice anywhere.  He's simply gone."

"This might not be the best time…" said Ken.  "But I've run a thorough search and confirmed that Protomon was destroyed.  He's nowhere on the Internet or the DigiWorld."

"But it cost us Jack and Stormdramon." said Tsunomon morosely.

"A tragedy," said Koromon.  "Protomon was supposed to be a good digimon, but that virus was too strong, even for him."

"Not only did we have to destroy a digimon…" said Cody.  "But a good digimon at that."

"And Jack and Stormdramon had to die to do it," said Yolei with tears in her eyes.  "I don't think I can ever forgive myself.  He wasn't supposed to die…"

"We don't know if they're dead for sure," said Mimi.  "All we know is that we can't find them at the moment."

"Don't worry," said Matt reassuringly.  "We'll find them both.  You'll see."

"Hey, where are T.K. and Kari?" asked Tai, suddenly realizing that they were absent.

"Hmpf," snorted Davis.  "They're on the balcony.  Apparently they wanted some 'alone time'."

Both Matt and Tai began to grin.  Outside, T.K. and Kari stood in awkward silence, desperately avoiding eye contact.  Tokomon and Nyaromon were perched on the roof overhead, looking down on the pair.

"So T.K.," said Kari nervously.  "That, uh, kiss back there was… nice."

"Uh, yeah," said T.K., scratching the back of his head.  "That was sure something.  Umm, Kari?"

"Yes T.K.?" asked Kari jumpily.

"I know it's probably too late," said T.K., slowly glancing towards Kari.  "But would you, I mean, uh, do you want to go out sometime… with me… on a, um, date?"

"It's never too late," said Kari as her expression softened.  "…Yes."

T.K. began to grin as his anxiety melted away.  Before he knew it, he found himself in a tender embrace with Kari.  The two of them looked out over the bright, shining city all around them.

"It took a little while, but I knew he'd find the courage eventually," whispered Tokomon.

"It's about time," said Nyaromon.  "Kari may not have noticed how much T.K. likes her, but I sure did.  To be honest, I was getting a little impatient."

"I felt exactly the same way," said Tokomon.  "Humans are nice, but I've noticed that they can be really dense sometimes."

"You said it," said Nyaromon.

Meanwhile, Matt stood at the stove, cracking eggs while Mimi sat on a stool at the counter.

"Oh Matt," said Mimi.  "He was so nice when I first saw him.  He stopped that guy from stealing my purse and even chased after him when he started running.  I've never met a guy like that anywhere else.  I just… I'm so … *sob*."

"Don't cry Mimi," said Matt, looking back at her as he began to mix the eggs in a frying pan. "I'm sure he's alive somewhere.  It's just a matter of time till he shows up again."

"He was so gentle," said Mimi.  "I've never met anyone who could be so kind and brave and strong at the same time.  He and Stormdramon both sacrificed themselves for us."

"Come on Mimi," pleaded Matt.  "He wouldn't want to see you cry.  He would want us to be celebrating how bravely he fought and how they saved the world.  Besides, deep down I know we'll meet them both again."

"Your right Matt," said Mimi.  "You always know just what to say and when to say it.  Thank you so much.  I'm feeling a lot better."

Mimi stood up with a smile.  She quickly twirled about and moved into the main living room where everyone else had gathered.  At the same time, Sora approached Matt from behind.

"I heard what you said Matt.  That was really sweet," said Sora.

"Ah well, you know me.  I'm always willing to listen," said Matt as he tried to act as cool as possible. "Um, Sora?"

"Yes?" asked Sora.

"I want to thank you for helping us out back there," said Matt.

"When was that?" asked Sora.

"When Garudamon distracted Protomon so Omnimon could get in a hit against him," said Matt.  "That was really great."

"We couldn't just sit there and let you two get clobbered," said Sora with a smile.  "I would've stepped in sooner if I thought you needed the help of your girlfriend."

"Hey now, it's not like I didn't save you on a few occasions," said Matt.

"Well then I'd better thank you for all those times," said Sora.

Sora moved in coyly, planting a kiss on Matt's cheek.  Matt simply melted at her touch, losing both his composure and his coolness in one fell swoop.  He was grinning like an idiot when she pulled back.

"Now as for how you can thank me," said Sora.  "I would just love to go out for a really nice dinner.  How's tonight for you?"

"Eh, gugh… snuh," babbled Matt incoherently.

"I'll take that as a yes," said Sora.  "Pick me up at six?"

"S-s-see you then," said Matt.

"Um… aren't those eggs just about done?" asked Sora, looking down at the frying pan.

Matt looked down too, noticing for the first time the black smoke that had begun to pour off the charred eggs.

"Gaa!!!" screamed Matt, hoisting the frying pan up and running around like a madman, looking for a faucet.

After a brief mad dash, Matt found the sink and had put the eggs under running water.  Sora was cracking up at the sight.

"Hey Matt, is breakfast almost ready?" shouted Tai from the living room.

Sora only laughed harder as Matt grinned sheepishly.

After another ten minutes or so, Matt finally managed to cook a batch of eggs that didn't end up looking and tasting like charcoal.  They all sat around the living room shortly, all trying to find enough room to eat in the small apartment.

"I'm still worried," remarked Matt offhandedly.

"What about?" asked Joe.

"Well, it's this cut I got on my head," said Matt,  "I know it'll sound crazy, but do you guys remember when I told you about what happened with the fog in the crater?"

"How could we forget?" asked Izzy.

"It sounded terrifying," said Michael.

"Well, while I was there, I felt a pain exactly where I have this cut now," said Matt.  "It really makes me nervous.  What about everything else I felt then?  Was that guy predicting my future or something?  More importantly, who was he?"

"I'm not sure we'll ever know," said Tsunomon.

"Let's try not to think about it now," said Tanemon.

"She's right," said Bukamon.  "Let's just cross those bridges if and when we come to them."

They all resumed eating and they tried to focus on the present rather than what the future might hold.  As he ate, T.K. felt his mind wandering back, back to the crater.  He remembered the disturbing images he had seen.  The pain… the bloodshed… he knew it was all too real to deny.  What terrified him most though, was the creature that he had seen overseeing it all.  The creature's face was darkened and slightly warped, but it was undeniably that of Protomon.

At the same time on a distant beach, a human and his digimon friend stood, watching the sunset.  The waves gently lapped against the shore as a cool ocean breeze caused Jack's hair to flow hypnotically.

"Jack, shouldn't you try to the Digiport again?" asked Stormdramon.

"Nah," replied Jack. "My digivice is all but shot.  I just hope the others can still track it because we're not going home without their help.  That energy shield it generated really screwed it up, but I'm happy it was there.  I just hope I can still use this thing to help you digivolve."

"Oh well," said Stormdramon.  "There are worse places to be stuck than the DigiWorld.  I'm sure we'll run into the others again eventually.  I'm just glad the two of us could stay together."

"You're all heart big guy," said Jack warmly.  "Let's not forget that we still have a job to do here.  We have got to keep an eye on this DigiEgg."

Jack held up a pure white DigiEgg that seemed to shimmer in the sunlight.

"Do you really think it's a good idea to keep that thing around?" asked Stormdramon.  "What'll we do if it hatches?"

"Just calm down," said Jack.  "In the unlikely scenario that it does hatch, I doubt we'll have much to worry about.  I mean, you're the one who told me that Protomon would have purged himself of all the corruption after we beat him."

"Well that was just a theory," said Stormdramon.  "I didn't know you'd listen to me."

"Relax," said Jack.  "Everything's going to be fine.  Trust me."

"I hope you're right Jack," said Stormdramon.

"Only time will tell what our destiny will be," said Jack.  "We just have to take things one step at a time."

The End 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
That all turned out pretty well. I'd like to say that I appreciate everyone's reviews and I'd like to hear more. I'd also love it if you would continue to review when the next part of my little epic comes out. I'd like to bring it to you as soon as possible, but first I want to bring a mini-fic your way. Only problem is that I'm completely out of ideas for one. If someone could offer a suggestion (relating to my story) via a reply, an email, or by instant message I would really appreciate it. And now, without further ado, I present to you the trailer for _The Crest of Corruption_…  
  
[Dramatic music plays]  
  
Young love is a wonderful thing…  
  
[Slideshow of T.K. and Kari having a good time]  
  
Unless of course you look at it through Davis' eyes.  
  
Kari and T.K. have quite a thing going, and all seems well.  
  
The search for Jack continues to no avail.  
  
But meanwhile, a great evil lies in wait…  
  
[Scene shifts to a very dark underground hall]  
  
Seeking vengeance, this creature will go to any lengths to destroy the DigiDestined.  
  
The plot it has devised is so dangerous…  
  
That the DigiDestined won't even be able to sense what's going on until it is too late.  
  
[A pair of red eyes glow in the darkness]  
  
From the creator, writer, and director of _The White DigiEgg…  
  
"And who, pray tell, is Keramon?" asked Hawkmon.  
  
…comes a journey into the heart of evil.  
  
"Well," replied Stormdramon. "This is probably our best chance at finding a way home."  
  
A jaded enemy has returned one last time…  
  
"In the mean time," said Matt. "Everyone should watch their backs. There's no telling what might happen if we're not careful."  
  
…and has begun to hunt the DigiDestined down one by one.  
  
"Don't interfere," repeated the unsettling voice.  
  
New friendships will be forged…  
  
"Keramon, wait," said Willis. "I…I just wanted to say I'm sorry."  
  
And old ones will be tested…  
  
"Feramon!" shouted Jack as he clutched his small friend in his arms. "Speak to me buddy."  
  
…in a battle that will stretch between worlds…  
  
"Ryo?" asked Ken. "Is that you?"  
  
…and through time itself.  
  
"Oh man…" muttered Davis. "What's going on?"  
  
"I was wondering that myself," said the young Tai.  
  
The ultimate clash of the titans is about to begin…  
  
"I shall not let you win," said Omnimon. "For the sake of all life everywhere, I will defeat you."  
  
…in Arek the Absolute's…  
  
_-The Crest of Corruption-_  
  
"How touching," said a sinister voice from the far corner of the room. "I just love happy reunions."_


End file.
